Teenager throws flash-mob party on Manhattan Bridge
Hundreds of revelers flocked to the Manhattan Bridge in New York City on Saturday night for a pop-up electronic dance party hosted by someone who isn’t even old enough to drink, the New York Post reports.
Dubbed “Xandernation,” the event was organized by Brooklyn native Alexander Shlaferman, a 19-year-old New York University dropout who has made a fortune running a multimillion dollar toy company. The party brought roughly 600 people to a pedestrian walkway in the middle of the Manhattan Bridge and was hosted without a permit.
“What more could you ask for? Everybody else is stuck in a little box they call a New York City club,” Shlaferman told the Post. “We had people out in the open air for free, having the time of their life.”
According to the Post, the party started around 9 p.m. on Saturday and lasted almost three hours. Soon after 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, police from Brooklyn’s 84th Precinct arrived and took Shlaferman and two other organizers into custody.
“The sergeant said he’s never seen anything like that in 15 years,” said Shlaferman. “I told him, ‘Thank you.’"
Shlaferman and DJs Brendan Risano and Giacomo Nacci were held for four hours and given a desk appearance ticket for reckless endangerment and other charges.
Shlaferman told the Post that he and his fellow collaborators bonded with the arresting officers. He also said he isn’t too concerned about getting a record.
“I assume they’re all misdemeanors and I’m not worried,” he said of the charges. “I would do it all over again.”
While Shlaferman had never been arrested before Sunday, he told the Post that this wasn’t his first big event. He said he’s hosted five others in warehouses across the city.
“I can go to a New York City club and spend $3,000 on a table, and have fun for three or four friends,” he said. “Or I can spend that money and make a thousand people happy.”
