A 25-year-old East Village native says a routine trip to get her tongue pierced turned into a trip to the emergency room, and now she is suing the St. Marks Place shop where it happened. Elsa Weingeist, a psychiatric office worker and Fashion Institute of Technology graduate, filed suit against Funky Town in Manhattan Supreme Court on October 16, alleging the piercing left her with massive bleeding and severe injuries.
Weingeist told the New York Post that she visited Funky Town, located on St. Marks Place in the East Village, in September to get a tongue stud. According to her lawsuit, a piercer identified as Shamim Islam pierced her tongue at least four times. Her attorney, Darius A. Marzec, said Islam repeatedly poked at Weingeist's tongue during the appointment, and Weingeist said she asked him to stop only after the fourth attempt.
A standard tongue piercing is typically performed with a clamp and a single clean pass through the tongue, a process that usually takes six to eight weeks to heal, per the same account. Weingeist's lawsuit claims Islam had no piercing license, and that Funky Town displayed credentials she said were not piercing licenses and did not identify him by name.
Blood, a 911 Call, and a Hospital Visit
Weingeist said her mouth filled with blood during the appointment, prompting her to call 911. She said she and a friend left the shop before police arrived because first responders were taking too long. From there, urgent care directed her to go to the hospital, where she said she received bloodwork and a tetanus shot.
Weingeist said doctors told her the healing process would take time, and that the injury made talking painful and difficult in the aftermath. Her lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. The Post reports that Funky Town has operated in the neighborhood for nearly two decades.
Shop Employee Pushes Back, Confirms Piercer Wasn't Licensed
A Funky Town employee told the outlet in a phone interview that Islam quit shortly after the alleged incident. The same employee admitted Islam was not licensed to perform piercings, but said other people at the store are licensed to do the work. The employee also claimed Weingeist filed the suit because she wants money, and said she could have simply removed a piercing she disliked.
New York State requires anyone who works as a body-piercing specialist, or operates a body-piercing studio, to first obtain a permit from the health department, according to the New York State Department of Health. State law also authorizes the health commissioner to set operating standards, fees, fines and penalties for tattoo and piercing operators, the department notes separately. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is responsible for licensing piercing studios within the five boroughs, though it did not return a request for comment on Funky Town's case.
City guidance echoes the state's requirements. Tattoo and body-piercing shops need a permit, and each individual tattoo or piercing artist needs a permit as well, according to NYC Business, which also says city shops must follow the health department's rules. The New York State Department of Health and the NYPD also did not return requests for comment.
Yelp Reviews Point to a Pattern of Complaints
Funky Town's Yelp page, last updated in October 2026, lists the shop at 14 Saint Marks Pl under categories including accessories, men's clothing and gift shops, according to Yelp. Several reviewers have described their own piercing complications there. One reviewer reported in October 2025 that a piercing remained unhealed after eight months, while another said in July 2025 that a piercing was still bleeding four months after it was done.
Other Yelp reviews from July 2025 describe a reviewer and a friend both experiencing bleeding after piercings, the shop not asking for ID or paperwork, pressure to pay for additional piercings, and flies in the piercing room. A separate review from November 2020 described a piercing that came out crooked, used incorrect jewelry, and later became infected.
What Can Go Wrong With a Tongue Piercing
Medical guidance underscores why piercers' training and hygiene practices matter. All piercings carry a risk of health problems, including allergic reactions, skin infections, keloids and tearing or trauma, according to the Mayo Clinic. Tongue swelling and inflammation after a piercing can affect chewing, swallowing and sometimes breathing, and jewelry can chip or crack teeth or damage gums, the clinic notes. It recommends going to a studio with properly trained employees and checking local health-department licensing before getting pierced.
A 2003 case report published by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry documented a 15-year-old boy who developed nonstop bleeding from under his tongue after a second piercing and was brought to a pediatric emergency room. Clinicians there found a roughly 2-centimeter hematoma with necrotic tissue, which stopped bleeding only after the tissue was removed and three sutures were placed, per the report. The same report cites an earlier 1997 case in which a 25-year-old woman was hospitalized for eight days with Ludwig's angina after a tongue piercing performed four days prior.
