The owner of two trendy Manhattan hotspots frequented by Janet Jackson, Jay-Z and other celebrities begged his female employees for sex, molested them and exposed himself, a lawsuit charged Wednesday.
Four bartenders at Meatpacking District bar Tenjune and its sister club, Simyone Lounge, call Mark Birnbaum a "sexual predator" who used his position "to prey on his female employees to satisfy his own personal needs," according to the lawsuit filed in Manhattan Civil Supreme Court.
"Birnbaum made unwelcome sexual advances, requested sexual favors, and engaged in inappropriate and illegal verbal and physical conduct of a sexual nature with plaintiffs, all of whom are young female employees at the lounges," the lawsuit said. "Indeed, defendant Birnbaum's conduct was so egregious that it amounted to sexual assault and battery."
A lawyer for Birnbaum, 33, and the clubs denied the charges.
"We categorically deny all the allegations; all these individuals are still currently working for the company and have been for years," said lawyer Peter Toumbekis.
The suit was filed by the same firm suing hipster American Apparel clothing line and its founder, Dov Charney, for allegedly using a teen employee as a sex slave.
"There's absolutely no connection between the two," said the plaintiffs' lawyer Eric Baum, of Simon Eisenberg & Baum, who added that the women continued working at the clubs because they needed the money but now may quit.
"They are anxious and scared at the prospect of encountering their abuser, Mark Birnbaum, or experiencing retaliation for the lawsuit," he said.
The 18-page lawsuit says Birnbaum's sexual harassment dates back to 2009, and the most recent incident occurred April 29, when he allegedly lured two women into a stairwell away from security cameras and molested them.
In April 2009, Birnbaum allegedly invited one employee to an after-party at his apartment.
But when she got to the apartment, the woman discovered she was the only guest, according to the lawsuit.
"All the plaintiffs have been scarred emotionally and are undergoing psychiatric treatment," the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of damages.
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