The man behind NYC's secret hangout

How one guy turned his home into an A-list hot spot

By JUSTIN ROCKET SILVERMAN

Last Updated: 4:56 PM, March 11, 2010

Posted: 1:20 AM, March 11, 2010

Comments: 20

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Sunlight streams through the windows as harried New Yorkers rush by on their way to work or school — but inside, the party is far from over. It’s 7 a.m. on Friday, and Fashion Week ended just the night before. The Box’s third anniversary party finished hours ago. But this party, the night’s best party, shows no signs of slacking.

Neither do the dozens of revelers spread across two rooms. Through blurry eyes and slurred speech, downtown scenesters lounge on sofas and on each other. Cigarette smoke wafts between them like demons from one of Mike Bloomberg’s nightmares. There is no cash bar at this party. Instead, a fridge is stocked with beer while open bottles of vodka and whiskey sit at strategic locations throughout the room. All of it is free for the taking. There’s even a large supply of limes and club soda — usually in short supply at this late stage of the game.

Zandy Mangold

Inside Mike’s party lair, where the booze is free and the guests are top-notch. Inset: The man behind the social scene.

Photos: A look inside NYC hotspot Mike's Apartment

The secret to this secret nightclub is that it is not a nightclub at all. This is just some dude’s apartment. Some dude named Mike.

PHOTOS: A LOOK INSIDE MIKE'S APARTMENT

Michael Herman is 32 years old and grew up in Rumson, NJ. His father helped invent the calling card for AT&T in the early ’80s and then diversified into investment banking and later partnered with family on other ventures, including Braddock’s Tavern in Medford, NJ.

Working for his dad, Herman managed both a flooring company and a paintbrush distributor — neither of which carries much caché in the world of downtown cool.

That’s where his parties come in.

For about a year now, Herman has been welcoming large crews of party people into his home on Great Jones Street in NoHo. He’s got an eclectic collection of friends, ranging from high-heeled to high finance to just high.

They are all attracted to Herman’s easygoing charm. He’s got none of that affected posing so common in night life. He favors ripped jeans and a T instead of the leather, metal and fur worn by many night-life bigwigs. If you were a young single lady, he is the kind of guy you would bring home to meet the parents.

His hangout first caught steam in March of last year, when Herman — who still works for his dad in “international security and commodity trading” — brought 50 people back to his place from a party at the nearby Bowery Hotel. That particular fete ended in a brawl between two drunken guests. But instead of souring Herman’s views on party hosting, it inspired him to make his parties even bigger.

It also put “Mike’s Apartment,” as it’s dubbed, on the radar as a chill pad for promoters to meet before heading out for the night.

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Comments (19)

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Bill

03/11/2010 11:14 PM

Mike - Remember it's all in the eyes, (don't hyde yours) you are one cool dude. Our paths will cross again, scratched up rolex and all. Peace - Bill!
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JMAZZ1980

03/11/2010 2:09 PM

@ dd

You'll never be a New Yorker. I don't care if you've been here 22 years, 22 months, or 22 days. You will never, EVER be one of us. You're just another carpetbagger responsible for the ruination of a once beautiful city.

Go back to Oklahoma.

yanksWiN

You're Manhattan-bred, like I'm banging Mila Kunis. You're just another scenester h*mo playing up to the "cool" kids. Little do you know, that the cool kids are all tools and you know what they say about people and the company they keep.......
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nutJoba

03/11/2010 1:33 PM

hey son...$700 a month for your walkup?
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yanksWiN

03/11/2010 1:11 PM

@sidney >>>bwhahaha you and your psycho bs...who areyou to tell a manhattan bred guy that hes not a newyorker if he pays what he can afford...$3000 booyah
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dd

03/11/2010 1:02 PM

This is America. We could live wherever we g**dam want!
Who gave you all authority to pose conditions on who's
entitled to live here and who isn't?! I've been here for
22 years and I, too, hate the soaring rent hikes. But
don't put the blame on me or anyone else who moved here.
Blame our wonderful politicians in Albany and City Hall, and lobbyists in the real estate business. Better yet, why don't you all shut the f*** up!
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JMAZZ1980

03/11/2010 12:19 PM

@ Sidney Falco

The most depressing thing about the City is the demise of the neighborhood. Hell's Kitchen used to be all working-class Irish. Yorkville was German. Carroll Gardens was all Italian. They were all neighborhoods. Places where everyone knew each other and looked out for one another. You all went to the same school, shopped at the market owned by your next door neighbor, prayed at the same church, dated the younger sister of the girl your brother married and when you married, you moved around the corner.

The problem is, as soon as one of those slimy, money grubbing out-of-towners moves into said neighborhood and sees that the rent is cheap and the streets are safe, they spread word to their friends who's father's pay their rents as well and the next thing you know, a family who has lived in the same building for the past two generations has been priced out and are forced to move. It's a damn shame. I've witnessed it with Carroll Gardens. I remember it when it was all bread stores, salumerias, social clubs and candy stores. Now, it's all "New Yorkers" from Ohio, Michigan, California, Texas and Iowa. Guys wearing girls pants, girls wearing giant sunglasses and General Custer boots, yuppies pushing $1,500.00 baby strollers and drinking $20.00 coffees.

I hate what New York has become. I loath my own City.

P.S. -

Born and raised in S.I.. Live in the middle of "enemy territory" on the Lower Eastside.
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Lee Anthony Nieves

03/11/2010 11:50 AM

Gimme a break.
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Sidney Falco

03/11/2010 11:33 AM

To JMass1980:

I agree. All the New York wannabees who move here from the mid-west run around calling themselves "New Yorkers". They will NEVER be "New Yorkers". No real New Yorker would be that stupid to pay $2,000-$3,000 a month for rent. Only these idiots would because they feel they are in New York and everything is expense so they pay any price for anything. They are so stupid they would pay $5 for one apple and think "well this is New York". I live off of Riverside Drive and pay less than $700 a month. Plus I am a REAL NEW YORKER. Born in Brooklyn.