eROI NYC Interactive Agency

So here goes…my Halloween Nightmare. It all started when @vitaloca and I were talking about what to do for the occasion. Last year I did the “roam if you want to” thing and just hopped around the city in a nerd costume seeking out adventure. And if you have ever been in New York during Halloween you know excitement is everywhere. So this year I thought I would try something different. I wanted to try a more collective experience.  So I got turned on to a huge party that was to go down in the failing Tavern on the Green. It was intriguing on multiple levels.

First the Tavern on the Green controversy led me to believe this would be a last of its kind party so I wanted to take advantage. Second it was one of these flat fee parties so it was all you can eat all you can drink for $60. Good deal considering Halloween in NYC is the biggest money suck on Earth.  Third, I wanted to get down in one place and see some dope costumes.  And lastly my boys Jiggy Biggs and Eric were in town and I wanted to show him how we roll out here. So party sounds great, tickets got bought…we are committed. As with any event you buy tickets to and have a ton of friends you are going with excitement started to build. I was stoked at the sheer potential of the night. The countdown began.

Ok, now with costumes bought, prefunk well on its way….let the nightmare begin. Because I was the little champion of this event I was a bit Gestapo about getting there early and all that jazz.  Standing “on line” as they say here is a New York past time so I wanted to at least be in the front. Supposedly the doors opened at 9:30 so I wanted to be there at 9. I gotta say spirits were high on the way down there. It felt like the feeling you feel right before a dope concert or right before you enter a theme park or something. That feeling was soon gone the moment we stepped out of the cab. Wow…the line was already snaking down Central Park West.  Optimism still reigned at this point…we figured they haven’t opened the doors yet. We are all good. So we waited. 10 min turned to 30 min and it became clear something was up. At one point they opened a gated area and it was a mad dash to the front. Hundreds if not thousands of 20 and 30 somethings jockeying for position in this line.  When that happened we figured it was only a matter of time before we got in. It wasn’t….we stood there for another hour. At this point it was shear pandemonium. People pushing and yelling….chants erupted from the crowd to the cadence of the “Let’s go Yankees” chant….instead it was “Let us iiin!….Let us iiin!”.  Just at the peak of frustration…it started raining. Absolute nightmare….I saw Marylyn Monroe covered in mud….there were about 100 Jokers with smeared face paint that I am sure took a while to put on. There were freezing flapper girls, pissed off fake cops, and probably 1000 pirates yelling at the top of their lungs. The crowd was getting hostile so I made the executive decision to get the hell out. Of course we lost visual with our friends about an hour ago so I grabbed Tatom and we headed the hell out of there.  Basically paid $120 to stand in a mob of people. About 10 min after we left the cops shut it all down.  I never seen so many pissed of people. 60 bucks a person gone. No booze, no food, wet costumes and pissed off girlfriends. Not a good combo.  So why does this belong on this blog…..

Social networking…. When I hear people question the power of social networks it is usually centered around the notion that they are somehow above the fray. “I don’t need a website to tell me how many friends I have” or “I don’t want all of my info out there”….but even to the most cynical person social networks are also good for something else…..consumer justice. Almost immediately after the place was shut down a Facebook group popped up….”We got scammed by Tavern on the Green 2009 Halloween!”  By the next Monday the group already had over 600 members.  Now there are almost 2000. So why is this important?  Public galvanization. Of course the tickets said no refunds….but with enough people pissed off and visible the promoters and managers of the party almost have no choice but to respond. Social networks gave a voice to victims that otherwise would have been silenced. It not like the better business bureau of NY would have jumped all over this. In addition to the outcry on social networks there was also coverage by traditional media outlets. Check it…Daily News, Newsday, Gothamist.  So what the hell happened? Well the promoters oversold the venue by oh only a few thousand! Pretty poor performance if you ask me. I am still in talks with the guy I bought my tickets from for my refund. Stay tuned for that outcome.

We were able to salvage the night after we stopped in to our neighborhood bar and caught up to the rest of the city. And of course, when we finally found our friends it didn’t really matter where we were. The good news is this episode renewed my faith in my generation for a couple of reasons. #1: Despite the total lack of control I didn’t see one fight break out or one act of violence toward a fellow line waiter. That says something….we were all pissed, but not at each other. #2: Using social networks for justice. The guys who put on this party definitely will have issues in the party scene here. Even if no one gets their money back justice will be served in that these guys probably won’t be able to throw a party in NYC again. So to anyone who got paid because of our tickets…you are the worst.