By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-08 18:56:02 | Updated at 2026-08-08 20:01:30
1 hour ago
A celebrity magnet Tribeca social club claims a former Merck exec and other neighbors are scheming to get it shut down by filing “baseless” complaints against it.
Maxwell Social Club — where it costs $12K to join and stars such as Reese Witherspoon, Brooklyn Beckham, David Letterman, Blake Lively and Julia Fox have gone to unwind — alleges in a new lawsuit that party-pooping neighbors have lodged dozens of complaints with the city for years because they can’t tolerate the occasional noise.
Owners Kyle Chaning-Pearce and David Litwak claim the alleged campaign has already cost them millions of dollars in fines, legal fees and lost business, according to court documents.
Former Merck executive vice president Roger Perlmutter and his wife Joan Kreiss have been warring with their new neighbor since it opened in 2023, ratting them out to the city and the co-op board, the suit contends.
But the co-op board — where Perlmutter serves as a member — has been refusing to approve repair requests made by the club for 17 months, according to court papers.
“The result was a self-reinforcing scheme,” the club claimed in the lawsuit.
Kreiss allegedly complained about issues related to “cooking and ductwork” at Maxwell. But the board shot down the club’s proposal for ductwork repairs in October 2024, according to the July 19 complaint filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.
She also allegedly made several efforts to force Maxwell to host exclusively quiet events, including suggesting to the board that Maxwell could host “meditation sessions.”
Neighbors insist that the club is the bad actor.
Maxwell had originally presented itself as a quiet, intimate venue, but the reality was the opposite, according to a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit filed in October 2025 filed by the co-op for allegedly disturbing the neighborhood, seeking at least $1.5 million in damages.
“Every summer weekend … a boisterous crowd would gather for an event,” according to a second-floor resident, whose unit sits directly above the venue, as seen in court documents. “These events almost always had loud, bass-heavy music, provided by professional DJs … As the mostly intoxicated patrons disperse … there is screaming and yelling like a late-night fraternity party.”
The board also demanded to have Maxwell’s lease voided and to bar them from staying open past 10 p.m, according to court papers.
“From its opening in 2023, Maxwell has consistently violated each and every one of its representations and agreements,” the board charged in the lawsuit.
“It is not the intimate sort of establishment promised, but rather it is an event space available for rent to the public, and turns into a loud, drunken nightclub virtually every weekend, and frequently on weekdays as well.”
The co-op’s legal complaint that the business is an “ongoing private nuisance” includes photos showing throngs of people outside, piles of trash and even a person vomiting onto the street.
The court ordered that the club undergo soundproofing in December 2025, Maxwell said it submitted two plans to soundproof to the co-op in 2024, but the board did not “meaningfully” respond, according to court papers.
Maxwell also sued another resident named Lucy Flieger on July 19 for complaining and trying to “obstruct and damage” its operations.
People who live and work on the block told The Post they had mixed reviews about the club.
“It’s always a mess in the morning and it gets rowdy,” one woman who works nearby, Sarah, told The Post.
Others said they hardly hear a peep.
According to the city’s 311 records, the building’s location has received 104 complaints during the three years the club has operated there, including 73 noise complaints, 14 sanitation complaints and three reports of rat sightings.
The City Department of Buildings said that Maxwell Social Club has only received four complaints since it opened, claiming that it was operating without proper permits and illegally cooking and using the cellar.
Three of them were dismissed and the fourth is still being investigated.
The NYPD said that cops were called to the club 45 times since it opened, and 13 of those calls were for noise complaints.
Kreiss, Perlmutter, Flieger and Maxwell Social’s attorney did not immediately return requests for comment. When approached in person, Maxwell Social Club employees declined to comment.
