This was practically breaking news.
An attempt to host an outdoor “rage room” on the streets of the Lower East Side nearly failed Saturday when the violence in the film was so realistic that some people called the police to report a riot.
Police sirens blaring rushed to the scene at Laigery, a venue that offers the “ultimate stress reliever” of smashing cars with bats for $5 a pop, in a scene reminiscent of the bad old days of Essex Street.
“Someone called and said they were worried someone had vandalized their car,” owner Roman Lup told the Post.
According to the NYPD, just an hour after the assault began, at about 2:45 p.m., a well-meaning person called 911 to report that three men had crashed into their vehicle.
What the good citizens failed to mention was that the thugs were wearing matching helmets, safety glasses, earmuffs and aprons, and that their already battered truck had been neatly placed on a tarp and strapped to a trailer for easy cleanup.
Officers responded to the chaotic scene and discovered the vandals had signed liability waivers before picking up the bat.
“They were very confused. They had very confused looks on their faces,” Lupu said.
“They took a while but they started to get closer. So I talked to them and said, ‘Hey guys, don’t worry. This is all a plan. This is just a promotion, a fun event, for customers of the new Rage Room that’s opening in town.’
The Summer Smash event was a creative way to draw attention to The Lagerly, Lupu said, but although it had been advertised for weeks on the establishment’s website and was even postponed a week because of rain, the NYPD and well-meaning neighbors were apparently unaware of the rowdy party.
The Westchester resident opened “An Unparalleled Anger Relief Room” with her partner Bogdan Zhukovsky in January as an outlet for New Yorkers’ notorious aggression.
Lupu said around 50 people took advantage of the opportunity to vandalise cars on Saturday.
Although it was the confused police officers who were perhaps most in need of stress relief, they were not among the tolerated vandals.
The NYPD said its officers “were present and completed their mission.”
