Metropolis Stabbing Eerily Familiar For College Point Residents

Two weeks after five people were shot and a bar with a turbulent history was closed down in Fresh Meadows, it was de ja vu in College Point, as six were stabbed and a nightclub with a storied past and now faces possible closure.
"Im appalled at the history of the club," said Councilwoman Julia Harrison. "Its not a peaceful place and if we let it continue, there will be more problems to come. Its time to get in there and shut down that g-damn place for good."
The incident occurred on the early morning of Friday, August 4, when six people were stabbed after an altercation outside the club. It began with a verbal dispute inside the popular night-spot, but became violent when the fight spilled out into an adjacent alley. It was then that Nick Gambino, 19, allegedly wielded a five-inch folding knife and stabbed six victims, two of whom are now in critical condition at New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens.
In its five years of existence, the Metropolis night club has faced a myriad of problems, ranging from selling contaminated liquor and the sale of alcohol to minors, to facing citations for disorderly conduct. This past year, the community did reach its boiling point, as a man was shot and killed in the clubs parking lot in August and another was fatally stabbed in the parking lot in February. The winter incident, culminated in a variety of other problems facing the club, prompting police from the 109th Precinct to order former owner John Provenzano to close its doors. While new Supreme Court Judge Arthur Lonchein ordered the club to re-open within four days, it faced another ten day suspension in June, as it was caught serving drinks to minors. It was then that the club changed ownership to Michael Diaz, and police were hopeful that he would finally make Metropolis law-abiding and clean.
"We met about four months ago and were assured by the owner that security would be increased and the illegal practices would cease to continue," said Marilyn Bitterman, district manager of Community Board 7. "We met with the College Point Corporate Task Force Unit, and we hoped the problems were solved. Now I dont know what is going to happen."
None of the victims in the latest incident was killed, but two Queens residents, James Mastronardi, 19, who was stabbed in the neck and Anthony Federici, 19, slashed in the abdomen, were listed in critical condition. Salvatore Louia, 21, Matthew McGlynn, 18, and Gambinos friend Frank Traina, 18, were also brought to the hospital. The other victim refused medical attention.
"This is a nice neighborhood and incidents like this are bringing down the community," said College Point resident Nicole Harbison. "To avoid any more problems, the club should be shut down for good."
The recent stabbings are reminiscent of the shootings at the Porterhouse Grille on July 21. The bar had also had its share of violence in the past, and while all five survived the recent shootings, it most likely closed its doors for good. "Were going to be working together," said Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn. "Places like that should not be allowed to re-open after repeatedly ignoring the law. We need more police, we need more supervision. Frankly, Im fed up with these places and Im going to do my part to help."