A clubgoer left in critical condition after he was set on fire as he left a Times Square night spot is a well-liked party promoter who organizes celebrity shindigs, a friend said on Monday.
Mark Whyte, 45, is in critical but stable condition and a lot of pain a day after a man doused him with gasoline and lit him up after they exchanged words outside the Nebula nightclub on W. 41st St. near Broadway.
Cops said Whyte’s attacker grabbed a gasoline canister from a food cart and emptied it on Whyte before starting the blaze about 4 a.m. Sunday. The assailant has not been caught.
“It’s absolutely horrific. You can’t even imagine. It’s disgusting,” said Zachary Depew, a friend and former colleague.
“He’s stable but he’s critical at the same time. He has third-degree burns. He’s still in the hospital. He’s in a lot of pain.”
Whyte was rushed to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell, where he continues to undergo treatment.
YouTube video surfaced of a dazed but conscious White standing shirtless on the street as cops and medical personnel covered him with a blanket in the aftermath of the attack. Burns are visible on White’s face, chest, torso, neck and back.
Cops are looking for a Hispanic suspect about 5-foot-8 with a medium complexion dressed all in blue. The victim and suspect knew each other, police sources said.
“I mean just from the pictures he is in so much shock,” Depew said. “You can tell he’s sizzled.”
“When you’re in the club-promoting business your image is a massive thing and he’s not going to look the same,” he added. “He has third-degree burns all over his face. His upper body does have significant burns. His shirt was taken off because he was in flames.”
Depew said there are inherent dangers in working such late hours — but being set on fire defies all expectations.
“I don’t know why anybody would do something so gruesome to somebody regardless of whatever happened,” Depew said. “I don’t know the story of what came about but I don’t care what happened. Nobody deserves to be set on fire.”
Depew said his friend is very protective and looks out for women who are sometimes harassed on the street as they exit various clubs.
“He would always protect these women,” Depew said.“We’ve had encounters where Mark had to defend these women.”
Whyte looks out for his friends too, Depew said.
Several years ago, Whyte intervened when Depew was attacked by a homeless mugger.
“He punched me in the face and tried to take my wallet,” Depew said of the attacker. “Mark Whyte was there. He potentially saved my life.”
Nebula opened in November 2021, boasting a multi-level 11,000-foot space that can accommodate up to 700 revelers — making it the largest nightclub to have opened in Manhattan in years, Time Out reported at the time.
In December, police arrested a man they say lit a sleeping homeless woman on fire in a Brooklyn subway car at the Coney-Island-Stillwell Ave. station,, then watched calmly as she burned to death.
Cops said Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, approached the sleeping woman, Debrina Kawam, 57, without saying a word and set fire to her clothes, engulfing her in flames “in a matter of seconds.”
With Rocco Parascandola
