Wild brawl inside Bronx restaurant caught on camera

ByCeFaan Kim, Eyewitness News WABC logo
Saturday, February 25, 2017
Brawl inside Bronx restaurant caught on camera
CeFaan Kim reports from City Island.

CITY ISLAND, Bronx (WABC) -- A brawl broke out inside a popular restaurant in the Bronx.

It is a wild chair-throwing brawl caught on cell phone video, and this is not some staged sports entertainment stunt.

The clip, posted on social media, is very real and very dangerous. It is now being reviewed by the NYPD.

"You know some serious parenting never took place when these kids were small," one person said.

"My reaction is to grab my children and run to the doors and head for safety," another said.

Police say it happened Thursday around 9:30 p.m. inside the Seafood City restaurant on City Island.

Friday night, the NYPD was patrolling the parking lot.

The bar, closed at 6 p.m.

The man seen in the black t-shirt in the video is the manager.

After meeting with police, he declined comment, but directed Eyewitness News to State Assembly member Mark Gjonaj to provide his side.

"The ownership of this establishment has hired the NYPD officers and they should be out here in the near future," Assem. Gjonaj said.

"I'll believe it when I see it," said John Doyle, of the City Island Civic Association.

Doyle says he's not buying what Gjonaj and Seafood City is selling.

Gjonaj we should note does not represent this district.

Doyle says he's been pushing for paid detail there, but says Seafood City has been resistant despite being no stranger to trouble.

"Just last year there was a shooting that originated here," Doyle said.

Meanwhile Doyle and community board members say it's time for the state to step in.

"We need to have the liquor license suspended immediately. We can't have this happen here," said Marjorie Velazquez, Community Board 10.

"A liquor license isn't a right. It's a privilege," Doyle said.

As for the people involved in the brawl, police say there were about 40 of them. But by the time police arrived they were gone.