It was the shot heard 'round Chelsea last weekend when a clubgoer opened fire in the streets just outside of the popular West 28th Street nightclub Shadow around 4 a.m Saturday. The round, which blasted through a metal gate and destroyed a neighboring storefront, is the most recent bout of violence to occur in the area (in January, a man was stabbed and beaten over the head with a beer bottle there), prompting community members' complaints about noise, drug dealing, and other turbulence in the club's vicinity.
At an atypically well-attended community meeting on Wednesday (20 people attended), Community Board 5 officials, NYPD Precinct Commander Elisa Cokkinos, and representatives from City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s office announced their intention to address the neighbor’s concerns. The proposal includes a possible case to prevent the club from renewing its liquor license. But one fearful resident said, "It is getting so bad and so violent. There are people peeing on our front door. The club is absolutely destroying the neighborhood. My wife can't sleep without taking Xanax."
Cokkinos also said, "We know what's going on, and we're dedicating our resources, you have my word. But it is a process, it's not going to just change overnight." And a manager at Shadow told DNAinfo that the Saturday shooter was from another club and that they fired their Friday night promoter.
