A thug cracked a Long Island visitor in the back of the head with a blunt metal object outside Ridge nightclub Nouveau on Feb. 22, fracturing his skull and causing cerebral bleeding, the victim reported to police this week.
It was the third bloody assault at the hangout in as many months.
Vincent Maiolica said he and his buddy were leaving a mutual friend’s party at the lounge on Third Avenue between 82nd and 83rd streets when he noticed a few young men — he estimated them to be about 18 years old — getting into an argument outside. He suggested to them that they calm down.
“We told the kids, why don’t you just chill out and enjoy yourselves,” said Maiolica. “I’m not the sort of person to start things with people.”
The Long Islanders then turned and walked toward their car, which was when the goon ran up behind Maiolica and clubbed him on the back of the braincase.
Maiolica said he has no memory of what happened next, but his friend told him that he lay on the pavement several minutes before his companion, who was walking ahead of him, realized what had happened, and that the young ruffians jumped into a car and sped off. His friend also told Maiolica that he had refused to go to the hospital that night, and instead went home.
Maiolica awoke the next morning to a bloody pillow and a splitting headache — literally — so he headed to Nassau University Medical Center, where doctors told him he had been bludgeoned with a piece of metal. Maiolica said he was laid up eight days in the ward, and spent the next three weeks out of work and bouncing between appointments with various specialists. It wasn’t until March 14 that he reported what had happened to police — at the recommendation of his friends, and out of hope of recovering some of his medical costs.
“The only reason I went through and filed a report was because friends of mine told me I had to,” said Maiolica, who is still out of work and suffering headaches and memory loss. “I’m not looking to sue anybody. I just want my medical bills covered.”
The assault on Maiolica follows a Feb. 3 incident where a Nouveau patron stabbed a bouncer in the backside while the enforcer was trying to break up a fight, and the alleged December 23, 2012 gouging of Nunzio Fusco at the hands of Gambino family-linked ex-con Battista Geritano at the glossy nightspot.
Community Board 10 district manager Josephine Beckmann said that she has heard numerous complaints from residents about violence in and outside of Nouveau.
“It is a concern when you have these types of incidents,” Beckmann said.
Councilman Vincent Gentile (D–Bay Ridge) said he has repeatedly reported the incidents at Nouveau to the State Liquor Authority, and said the lounge was a source of concern to his office, especially given its location — the former address of problem-plagued Level Cafe and Ibiza, both now defunct.
“We continue to monitor Nouveau with a very close eye,” the pol said.
A Nouveau employee hung up on us when we called and asked about the outbreaks of brutality at their establishment, but Beckmann said that the owners had told her they were taking steps to improve security. The State Liquor Authority could not be reached for comment.
Reach reporter Will Bredderman at wbredderman@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4507. Follow him at twitter.com/WillBredderman.
