Providence nightclub "Level II" was forced to shut down. The city licensing board made its final decision Monday. the club had been closed for months after six people were shot there Easter morning.
Police were pushing it to be shut down for good, and now they got what they wanted. They're not the only ones, dozens of neighbors are happy too, but they're not getting their hopes up.
Arthur Salisbury was all smiles Monday. He finally got what he'd been fighting for, "Level II" nightclub closed for good.
"We've been through enough," said Arthur. The back of "Level II" nightclub has been right outside his window for years. He's heard a lot of yelling, but nothing as violent as what happened Easter morning. Six people were stabbed in a huge brawl, forcing police to temporarily close the club down.
"It's amazing," said Arthur, "I think they've been closed for eight weeks now, and that one club that's been closed, we've had no violence and we've had no vandalism."
He hopes that continues with "Level II" now closed for good, but his fear is it won't last long.
"The same exact thing happened to "Elements" [nightclub], which was the club below "Level II" when their license was revoked and then they came back to them afterwards," said Arthur, "They asked if they could sell it, and they sold it to "Karma" [nightclub]."
Arthur said that's another troublesome club. "Level II" owners can also appeal to the Department of Business Regulation, which he hopes police won't let go through.
"We live in a democracy and certainly they have a right of appeal, but we feel we've shown strongly that because of this incident and the club's history, they should not be allowed to do business in this city," said Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare.
Club owners and their lawyer were not at Monday's announcement, but they did say last week they will appeal the closure.
