CHELSEA — Amy Sacco's Bungalow 8 may be banned on West 16th Street, but that hasn't stopped a group of high-powered Whitney Museum patrons from throwing bashes using the name.
A group of Whitney boosters threw an afterparty Wednesday night at the club at 357 W. 16th St., calling it Bungalow 8 even though the bar's owners agreed not to use the name.
"If you're coming from the Whitney Art Party tonight (or not), come join us for some late night Bungalow fun," said the invite, entitled "Whitney Afterparty @Bungalow 8."
According to the invite seen by DNAinfo.com New York, the party was hosted by a cavalcade of Whitney donors including Lisa Anastos, founder of the Whitney Contemporaries, whose annual art party rocked SoHo last night.
A seperate email sent by Sacco herself and forwarded to DNAinfo.com New York Thursday contained the bar's preview hours and identified Sacco as a member of "Team No. 8."
LDV Hospitality, the owners of the space, signed an agreement last month with Community Board 4 and the State Liquor Authority not to use the Bungalow 8 name or hire on Sacco as an employee. The bar has been called 8, No. 8, and #8 in different reports.
Other hosts for the afterparty included designer Christian Cota, Hearst heiress Amanda Hearst and socialite Arden Wohl.
Representatives of the Whitney Contemporaries referred calls to the Whitney Museum. The museum did not return calls for comment, nor did the other named organizers and neither did LDV or Sacco
Sacco's original Bungalow 8 nightclub was a celebrity hotspot for years until it closed in 2009.
Community members feared that by involving Sacco and using the name, the bar, which was described to the community board as a gastropub, would quickly become a noisy, traffic-heavy club.
Sacco "is not and shall not be an employee, owner or consultant of the applicant" at that location, LDV Hospitality wrote in the agreement.
The board was originally surprised to find out that a nameless gastropub they had approved in January would be named after the old celebrity club. LDV's agreement came after the SLA froze the space's liquor license due to the board's outcry.
Sacco herself has not been shy about her involvement with the space on West 16th Street, tweeting out invites to her celebrity friends, including Paris and Nicky Hilton. Several sources also told DNAinfo New York that they saw Sacco entering and leaving the club on a daily basis.
Representatives from Community Board 4 said that the evidence suggests their agreement with LDV Hospitality had been broken and that the board planned to lobby the State Liquor Authority to enforce it.
"We're trying to see what we can do," said CB4 Business Licenses and Permits Committee co-chair Paul Seres.
"But she's obviously there."
