It was loud. It was leafy. It was, for a brief moment in the late 2000s, the only place in Manhattan where you could feel like a climate activist while ordering a $600 bottle of Belvedere. Greenhouse Nightclub New York wasn't just another Varick Street basement; it was a 6,000-square-foot experiment in "eco-chic" nightlife that basically defined an era of Soho excess. If you were there, you remember the bamboo walls and the LED ceiling that looked like a digital canopy. If you weren't, you probably heard about the lawsuits or the time Rihanna showed up and the paparazzi line stretched halfway to the Holland Tunnel.
But here’s the thing. Most people remember Greenhouse as a celebrity magnet. They forget it was actually the first nightclub in the United States to receive a LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
The Eco-Friendly Illusion
Building a "green" nightclub in 2008 was a weird flex. Honestly, the owners—Jon Bakhshi and his team—were trying to solve a problem that most clubgoers didn't even know existed. Think about the sheer energy consumption of a standard NYC mega-club. You have massive AC units fighting the heat of 500 sweaty bodies, industrial-grade sound systems pulling kilowatts like crazy, and enough light to be seen from orbit. Greenhouse tried to flip that.
They used sustainable bamboo flooring. The staff wore uniforms made from organic cotton. Even the vodka was supposed to be "carbon neutral" (whatever that actually meant in the marketing speak of 2010). The walls were covered in preserved moss, and the ceiling featured 5,000 translucent crystals that changed color. It looked cool. It felt different. It was a biophilic design dream before "biophilic" was a buzzword you'd find on every interior design blog in Brooklyn.
But let's be real. It was still a club. You can have wind-powered electricity, but if you’re idling thirty Escalades out front for the VIPs, the "green" label starts to feel a little thin.
Why the Celebs Loved the Green
For a few years, Greenhouse Nightclub New York was the center of the universe. It had that specific Soho/Hudson Square energy where you’d see T.I. celebrating a birthday or Kanye West walking through the door without a second glance from the door staff. It was the "it" spot because it offered a level of tiered exclusivity that worked.
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The bi-level space allowed for a hierarchy. You had the main floor where the chaos happened, and then you had the "CMYK" lounge downstairs. It was intimate. It was dark. It was where the real business of New York nightlife happened away from the prying eyes of the "bridge and tunnel" crowd that usually flooded the neighborhood on Saturdays.
The Legal Storm and the Downfall of Greenhouse Nightclub New York
You can’t talk about Greenhouse without talking about the drama. It wasn’t just the loud music or the neighbors complaining—though they definitely did. The club became a magnet for litigation that eventually made the "eco-friendly" mission a footnote in its history.
First, there were the civil rights lawsuits. In 2010 and 2011, the club faced allegations of discriminatory door policies. This is a common story in New York nightlife, but for Greenhouse, it stuck. Plaintiffs alleged they were denied entry based on race while white patrons walked right in. It got messy. It got expensive. And it started to tarnish that "good vibes" sustainable image they spent so much money building.
Then came the violence.
The most infamous incident didn't even happen directly to the owners, but it happened in their house. In 2012, a massive brawl involving the entourages of Chris Brown and Drake allegedly started over a note about Rihanna. While that specific fight is often associated with W.i.P. (Work in Progress), which was the club located in the basement of the same building, the two were inextricably linked in the public's mind. The "Greenhouse building" became synonymous with high-stakes celebrity beef and flying Grey Goose bottles.
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The Licensing Nightmare
New York’s State Liquor Authority (SLA) is notoriously difficult. If you run a club and you have "disorderly premises" complaints stacking up, you're on borrowed time. Greenhouse Nightclub New York spent years fighting to keep its doors open. By 2014, the "green" gimmick had worn off. The bamboo was scuffed. The moss was dusty.
The club eventually lost its liquor license and shut down. It was the end of an era for the Varick Street corridor. Shortly after, the space was reimagined, but it never recaptured that strange lightning-in-a-bottle moment where environmentalism and bottle service shook hands.
What We Actually Learned from Greenhouse
Was it a total sham? Not necessarily.
Greenhouse proved that you could build a high-volume hospitality venue using sustainable materials. They used low-VOC paints and recycled glass. They showed that "luxury" didn't have to mean mahogany and leather. But they also proved that a club's culture is dictated by its management and its door policy, not its insulation.
- Sustainability is a lifestyle, not a PR stunt. When the club's "green" identity clashed with its "exclusive" identity, the exclusivity won every time.
- The SLA doesn't care about LEED certification. You can have the most energy-efficient building in the world, but if there are fights on the sidewalk, the city will shut you down.
- Design matters. The "LED crystal ceiling" concept at Greenhouse paved the way for the immersive lighting setups we see in modern clubs like Marquee or Brooklyn Mirage.
How to Research Former Nightlife Spots
If you’re looking into the history of Greenhouse Nightclub New York or similar defunct spots, you've gotta look past the old press releases.
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- Check the SLA Database: You can still find old disciplinary records for Manhattan venues. It’s a goldmine for understanding why a place actually closed.
- Archived Social Media: Look for old Geo-tags on Instagram or Flickr. It gives you a raw, non-pro look at the interior design that professional photographers usually touched up.
- Real Estate Filings: The building at 150 Varick Street has a long history. Tracking the lease changes tells you more about the "death" of a club than any "closing party" announcement ever will.
The era of the "Eco-Club" might be over, but its influence on how we think about commercial interiors remains. Just maybe leave the bottle service drama in the past.
Actionable Takeaways for Modern Nightlife Enthusiasts
If you are a venue owner or a designer looking to replicate the "Greenhouse" model without the Greenhouse mistakes, focus on these three things.
Prioritize operational sustainability over aesthetics. It’s better to have an efficient HVAC system and a zero-waste bar program than bamboo floors and a bad reputation.
Community relations are everything. Greenhouse failed partly because it became a nuisance to the neighborhood. If you’re opening a spot in Soho or anywhere in Lower Manhattan, your relationship with the local precinct and the community board is more important than your celebrity guest list.
Diversify your identity. Greenhouse leaned so hard into being "The Green Club" that when the legal troubles started, they had no other leg to stand on. A successful venue needs to be a great bar first and a "concept" second. Look at how places like Public Records in Brooklyn handle sustainability now—it's integrated into the sound and the culture, not just used as a marketing hook.