More than 100 Greenpoint community members showed up at the local North Fork Bank to meet with officials from the 94th Precinct and NYC authorities. The gathering was devoted to discussing neighborhood safety, which became a burning issue after a 20-year-old woman was shot last week in front of Exit, a Greenpoint nightclub.

Greenpoint community members demanded that police react to the tragedy with strong measures. Some suggested closing down the club, while others advocated for establishing a permanent police post next to Exit. “We are taking the issue very seriously. We realize that any of us could potentially become a victim in a similar accident,” said Captain Dennis Fulton, the commanding officer of the 94th Precinct in Greenpoint. “Our goal is to provide the utmost safety to our community. There are a lot of bars and clubs in the neighborhood. We are trying to come forward with a preventive strategy and have reached out to all Greenpoint entrepreneurs, among them club and bar owners, to ask for their suggestions on how best to devise an effective neighborhood safety policy.”

Capitan Fulton emphasized he did not intend to intimidate business owners, but rather to enlist them in developing a safety system to provide security to the community that would be satisfactory to the business owners. “We will certainly increase the number of officers patrolling the streets in the vicinity of the club. Appropriate measures have already been taken in this regard," said Captain Fulton, pointing out that this year there have only been two shooting accidents in the area.

Many community members at the meeting complained about other inconveniences arising from the presence of Exit, such as excessive noise, cars raising in front the club, fights and young people drinking outside the venue. Some mentioned that the police rarely show up to check on the area around the club at night.

“I realize that people may be disturbed by the noise,” said Captain Fulton in response to the complaints. “In many cases the music volume stays within the required limits so the police have no basis for intervention; however, every day we intervene when there is drinking in the streets and other kinds of public nuisance.”

Leaving the North Fork Bank, representatives of the Greenpoint community expressed hope that the situation will improve. “The most annoying is the loud music and the racing cars. I do not sleep a wink on weekends. I hope Captain Fulton will keep his promises,” said one of the participants of the meeting.

“The problems discussed at the meeting have been bothering us for many years. It is only after the shooting that people decided they had enough and the police seem determined to step in and deal with the mess,” said Krystyna Holowacz, an activist from Greenpoint.

Louis Barricelli, the owner of Exit and who attended the meeting, told Nowy Dziennik that in response to the neighbors’ complaints, he stopped hip hop nights at the club. In his opinion, the shooters were not club patrons. “Security makes sure that no one in possession of a gun enters the club. As far as the noise is concerned, it is gauged on a regular basis and kept within the allowed limits. Unfortunately, regulations do not allow for smoking inside clubs or bars, so many of my clients hang out outside,” Barricelli said in his defense.