Michael Slyder believes there’s a way to halt the string of four shootings this year – including one homicide – that last week prompted Buffalo Police to indefinitely close Club Marcella, the dance club he has operated with partner Joe Guagliardo for the last 30 years.
The answer hinges on acknowledging the challenges of the club’s location, the brazenness of youth violence in Buffalo and the need for creative collaboration between businesses and law enforcement.
The club’s rotation of 20 armed security guards, walkthrough metal detector, control room for the 92 cameras, raised wooden patio fence – and even facial recognition tools – have stymied small disturbances but proven fallible against severe ones.
“Our level of deterrence, even with armed guards, doesn’t work with people like this,” Slyder told The Buffalo News last week. “We can’t stop it. They are going to continue to do these things.”
When their lease expired in the Theatre District last year, Slyder and Guagliardo sought to continue their evolution from an LGBTQ+-focused club to a larger, more inclusive venture: a big-city nightclub like those they once ran in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. They wanted rooms devoted to different kinds of music, such as Latin and hip-hop, as well as live entertainment including drag shows and DJs.
The gun attack in the Michigan Avenue nightclub was the fourth shooting associated with the venue, and…
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