Pacha Group CEO Kabir Mulchandani presents at Brooklyn CB1 on Tuesday, April 14. Photo by Cole Sinanian
BY COLE SINANIAN
cole@queensledger.com
GREENPOINT — Fans of the Brooklyn Mirage rejoice— a revamp of the infamous East Williamsburg open-air nightclub will open this summer as Pacha NYC, though things will be different this time around.
Known for its wraparound screens and wild EDM shows, the original Brooklyn Mirage — located at 140 Stewart Avenue — was far from a good neighbor. The venue’s previous operators, Avant Gardner, filed for bankruptcy in 2025 and had been criticized for poor crowd management, excessive noise pollution, invasive security, overpriced drinks, and overbooking that left thousands of patrons paying for shows they never got to see. By the time it closed in 2024, rumors were circulating that a serial killer stalked Brooklyn Mirage’s perimeter.
Up against this dismal reputation, the new management team came to Brooklyn Community Board 1 at the Swinging Sixties Center on Tuesday night prepped to earn the trust of the North Brooklyn community, much of whom had harsh words for the nightlife industry in general, which they say has overwhelmed Bushwick and East Williamsburg with constant noise and rowdiness that has seriously degraded residents’ quality of life.
Presenting to a packed room, Indian-born billionaire and Pacha Group CEO Kabir Mulchandani positioned his company as one of the world’s most responsible hospitality brands, vowing to be the good neighbors his predecessors never were. He detailed his team’s plan to cut down on noise pollution, boost security, and add an independent shuttle bus network to the neighborhood to transport patrons, all in the name of improving safety for clubgoers and being respectful to neighbors.
“Talking to members of the community, it has become exceptionally clear that there were many challenges that this venue faced,” Mulchandani said. “But I don’t think the venue deserves the blame. It’s the management that deserves the blame. There’s nothing wrong with the venue or right with the venue. It’s about who runs the venue.”
The Pacha Group is perhaps best known for its flagship Ibiza venue, billed as “the world’s most iconic nightclub.” The Brooklyn location will be called Pacha NYC, and according to Mulchandani, it will contribute $75 million annually in economic activity and $4 million in tax revenue. Despite the fact that the site is still a mostly empty lot, Pacha NYC has already begun selling tickets, while the website has hailed it “Brooklyn’s Most Iconic Nightclub.”
Mulchandani attributed much of the Brooklyn Mirage’s safety issues to overbooking and being consistently over-capacity. To address this, the new venue will cap capacity at 7,600 compared to the Brooklyn Mirage’s 9,600 and employ a system of lasers that track entries and exits in real-time via an app on attendees phones, instead of the traditional clicker-based system, which Mulchandani said is unreliable. An AI-powered security screening system and “200-plus” surveillance cameras, meanwhile, will keep frisking to a minimum.
“I’ve seen the data,” Mulchandani said of the Brooklyn Mirage. “It oversold many, many nights. When you oversell, people are banging into each other. They’re getting more angry. They’re getting more upset. That creates friction, a lot of friction.”
As far as transportation, a fleet of free shuttle buses will move patrons from the club to Manhattan and two Brooklyn L Train stops, in a system similar to what’s used at the Ibiza club. Mulchandani also committed to funding pedestrian lighting improvements in the area and employing independent traffic guards at Pacha’s cost. And to address the area’s famously poor cell service, Pacha has already installed a new cell tower, which Mulchandani said he tested personally.
Regarding noise, Mulchandani claimed Pacha NYC’s $2.5 million directional soundsystem would reduce noise pollution by 50-75% compared to the Brooklyn Mirage. Also included in the plans are an “acoustic wall” that would prevent further sound leakage, and a decibel monitoring system that would immediately reduce the volume if it surpasses the allowable decibel limit.
But while several community members testified in support of Pacha’s plan — most notably North Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President Paul Samulski and Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce Vice President Paul Caserta — the majority of the speakers during the public testimony portion of Tuesday’s meeting were critical, drawing attention to the disastrous effects the nightlife industry has had on the neighborhood’s quality of life.
“This is a low-income neighborhood, the schools have no money in Bushwick, it is very sad what is happening,” said Karina, a mother who testified at the meeting who lives 1300 feet away from the site. “People come in from other communities and just basically trash the neighborhood. The club owners make hand-over fist, while you see schools that are struggling, no green space.”
A woman named Haley called out the community’s limited ability to hold companies accountable if they break their promises.
“It comes down to long term residents already understand the impact of a club of this magnitude in the area, and we want assurances,” she said. “I really appreciate that you’re willing to have these conversations. I respect you for doing that. I think it’s just there is a lot of ‘trust me’ energy coming out of this, and so it’s about accountability moving forward.”
EMS worker Joe Cruz, meanwhile, warned that the district doesn’t have enough ambulances, and that a club of this size would strain the already limited EMS resources.
“When you have a venue this big, with that many people, think about the resources that they’re gonna take for every intoxicated person that’s gonna call,” he said. “So that’s a problem for your community.”
Another man, who takes care of his terminally ill father, described the toll the nightlife scene has taken on his family.
“I’m a caregiver, my dad is 84-years-old, he has Alzheimer’s,” he said. “The streets are loud— trash, nightlife, piss. It’s an ecosystem that has been horrible for us.”
