| Is it me, or have the weekly events on 1 Street S.W. gone from the cutting-edge, to patrons potentially falling victim to a cutting edge? Gone are the days of great Night Gallery shows like the SuperSuckers or Murder City Devils. That club, along with the Castle, Drum ’n’ Monkey and Cherry Lounge, made the tiny strip an entertainment force to be reckoned with. That was four years ago.
Since then, the Night Gallery has closed, the Drum ’n’ Monkey and Castle have changed ownership, and the block has become a haven for crackheads, prostitutes,and thugs, like those responsible for the incident at the Cherry Lounge on January 20, when an employee was stabbed while another man was shot. Some will argue that venues such as the Cherry and NYLA are to blame, while others point the finger at the media for glamourizing "gangster" mentality. My question is, where were the local police when this incident took place?
"We can't afford to have police on 1st Street at all times" was the answer I received while on the phone with a 911 dispatcher during a different incident involving a man who assaulted a young woman late last summer. Can't afford it? I'm not advocating we employ a whole SWAT team, just two cops between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. Back in the aforementioned "glory days," there was a police cruiser parked in the middle of the street, just in front of the Castle, almost every Friday and Saturday night. In those days, you'd never hear of much violence at all. In the last eight months alone, I have witnessed everything from crack deals to knife fights, as well as the ultimate in scary – a bow-and-arrowing. Actually, there was a cop on the street during that unfortunate event. The officer was in his cruiser (right beside the hot dog guy) when I approached, knocked on his window, and pointed out the guy directly across the street wielding a compound bow and arrow. At first he gave me grief for interrupting him, but then noticed the madman and apprehended him right away. Mark that as an assist for doorguys everywhere.
From what I can tell, judging by the way they handled the incident last month, city police are content with their current techniques, which apparently involve waiting for something to happen, rushing to the scene with as many cops as they have at their disposal (20-plus cops and literally a dozen vehicles this time around), getting the names and phone numbers of everyone who stuck around, and hoping someone comes forward with some shred of a lead. I guess civilian lives aren't worth the cost of two beat cops per night, but 20-plus cops after the fact surely works. Maybe we should be blaming city accountants....
Steve B. is a concerned doorman at the Castle Pub on 1st Street S.W. |
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