Nomad members club the Ned emerged as the hotspot of post-COVID New York City. But its public face, Richie Avika, is out amid a growing swirl of chaos and confusion.
Since lockdowns began to ease, the elite club has appeared endlessly in the media due to guests like Leonardo DiCaprio, Rihanna, P Diddy, Emily Ratajkowski, G-Eazy and comic Leslie Jones.
It had appeared to be a return to the apex of nightlife for Akiva, who achieved renown as one of the founders of longtime late-night mecca 1Oak.
But the Ned hit liquor license issues in December and seemed quickly to lose its stride.
Now Akiva’s a goner. And we hear there’s behind-the-scenes wrangling over money.
The night life vet, who helped launch the exclusive club with Ron Burkle and Soho House founder Nick Jones in June 2022 and was officially its “brand and creative director” — told us “envisioning, conceptualizing, creating, designing and building is what I truly love most about my business and ultimately watching that come to life! This is something that I did not have the opportunity to do with The Ned as I took over a week before opening.”
He added that he’s leaving to “fully devote myself to a few upcoming projects that I am very excited about.”
Oddly, he posted the announcement on Instagram shortly after being contacted by Page Six, perhaps hoping he’d get a more sympathetic hearing on social media than in our pages.
A source told us Akiva had a foot out the door earlier this month, and that there’s still back-and-forth about how much he is owed. And there’s a bundle on the table, says the source.
The Ned did not respond to request for comment.
In mid December, members of the club who pay $5,000 annually were notified that alcohol would not be served in the restaurant Cecconi’s or Ned’s Club Upstairs and Ned’s Club Downstairs.
An email sent December 12 and seen by Page Six alerted members of the return of booze, but with some changes.
“We have now resumed the sales of alcoholic beverages in the Club with the exception of the Library, and until further notice there will be a few changes to our operational hours and live entertainment programming. All indoor Club spaces will close at midnight and while live music won’t be featured,” said the email.
Akiva previously owned Meatpacking hot spot 1Oak, but it was evicted in 2022 after racking up nearly $1.8 million in back rent.
He was also a part of Butter Group — which included restaurants and popular nightclubs such as Up & Down — with former business partner Scott Sartiano until the pair ended up in a nasty court battle in 2018.(Sartiano now owns Zero Bond members club and buzzy restaurant Sartiano’s.)
Akiva also teamed up with Darren Dzienciol to throw ritzy A-list bashes for the events like the Oscars and the amfAR gala.
But as Page Six reported in June 2023, the pair had a nasty split that led to them hosting rival bashes during May’s Cannes Film Festival.
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