By Brian Lockhart
For the second time in less than a year, an evening at the Metropolis Nightclub in College Point ended in murder when a Bronx man's throat was slashed in the establishment's parking lot early Saturday morning, said a Police Department spokesman.
Detective Edward Reuss said the slashing, which claimed the life of Raymond Hernandez, 21, of 891 Fox St., occurred around 5 a.m. Saturday outside of the five-year-old nightclub at 31-99 123rd St. Reuss said the slashing was the result of a dispute between Hernandez and two suspects, whom he described as Hispanic, in their 20s and about 5-feet-7 inches tall.
Hernandez was rushed to New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens, where he died later the same day at 1:55 p.m.
On Tuesday, Deputy Inspector James Waters of the 109th Police Precinct said detectives were still seeking the two suspects and had no details about what the trio had been arguing about.
Waters said the murder – the second violent incident to occur at the Metropolis since he took command of the 109th Precinct last July – was proof that the area was a spot that needed to be closely watched by police. His officers patrol the area and perform parking and drunk-driving checks there on a regular basis, he said.
A spokesman for Metropolis could not be reached for comment as of press time.
The Metropolis, billed as “the most exciting experience on the planet,” opened in 1995. It is located in the industrialized College Point Corporate Park, just a few blocks west of College Point Boulevard, and is bounded by Flushing Bay, Time Warner Cable, building material companies and city Department of Sanitation garages.
On Aug. 14 , three men died outside of the nightclub, again around 5 a.m., in a bizarre shooting incident and car crash.
In December 1995, just months after Metropolis' grand opening, another violent confrontation occurred in front of the club in which one man was slashed, three men shot and a fifth man hit by a car.
Mildred Auletta, a member of Community Board 7 who represents the neighborhoods near the Metropolis, said the 109th should definitely be focusing its attention on the nightclub.
“After that last shoot-out, I think it should be looked at a little more,” Auletta said, noting she would like the nightclub's owners to meet with community leaders to discuss the incidents.
Sabina Cardali, who heads the College Point Civic and Taxpayers Association and is a Times/Ledger columnist, said after so many incidents, enough was enough.
“It's gotten so something's got to be done,” Cardali said.
