Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - It has been more than two weeks since the latest shooting at Club Marcella that has the nightclub in Buffalo's Cobblestone District shut down.
Back on Dec. 3, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia exercised a "peace and good order" closure of the nightclub, which has the venue closed through, at least, Feb. 1. At which point, club ownership will then have to go before the police commissioner, as well as the city's Department of Permits and Inspection for a hearing to determine whether they can or will reopen, and under what conditions they will reopen.
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In the two weeks following the fourth shooting in or around the club in 2023 alone, Club Marcella ownership has been grappling with how to go about reopening the venue, while also ensuring the safety of those who work at, or patron the nightclub.
"How do you bounce back from repeated incidents, whether we're to blame or not? At the end of the day, we've got a series of issues outside, and inside that really force us to decide, even if the city and the State Liquor Authority allows us open, do we really want to open given the conditions in this very dangerous environment that we refer to as the Cobblestone District?," said Club Marcella CFO, Michael Slyder in an interview with WBEN.
At this time, Slyder believes the Cobblestone District is too dangerous for Club Marcella to continue to operate in without police presence in the district. He says he cannot risk the safety of his husband - co-owner Joe Guagliardo - his staff and his customers unless there's cooperation with the leaders of the city to ensure there's a different level of police presence.
When it comes to making their case to reopen Club Marcella after their 60-day period is up, Slyder feels the City of Buffalo already knows what they need to provide a safe environment for business going forward.
"I've had several meetings over the last year trying to point to the need for some type of cooperative model with the City of Buffalo. My background includes running a community policing project in the City of Miami that was praised. We received awards, and we were able to reduce violent crime in a 24-hour district by 15%," Slyder said. "I repeatedly say this, I'm not going to sit here and blame, finger point, including finger pointing at the police. They are our heroes, they've been there for us for 30 years, but I'm really tired of fingers being pointed at us."
Slyder feels there is a culture of bullying going on with Club Marcella that has made it easy for people to throw blame toward the nightclub without basing any ideas on facts and evidence.
"We are a business that's been in Buffalo for 30 years, we've done our part. We have been a very important part of various communities, including the gay community, but just in general, the community at large. We returned from Miami to do our last project, and it's been a really difficult time, and a very sad and disappointing time," Slyder said. "At the end of the day, don't stand up for Club Marcella, stand up against bullying. There's a culture of bullying here, and I really believe strongly that for us to find answers, we have to find them together, we have to find ways to cooperate."
When it comes to policing for other nightclubs in the City of Buffalo, Slyder points to police details on Chippewa that are highly efficient models. However, he believes there is no cooperation between the club owners, their staff and the police.
"These bars are simply dumping their troubles out in the street and expecting the police to clean up their mess," Slyder explained. "I believe in more responsible operations, I believe the security of my club is my responsibility, and the police are there to assist. But they are not there to work for me, and that is a critical point. I proved that in Miami, and I want to create cooperative models in Cobblestone.
"The only difference between Chippewa and Cobblestone is they're pulling triggers. They don't pull triggers, because if they do it, they walk outside and a police officer's standing right there."
When asked about the prospect of reopening Club Marcella, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn feels the club has done its part to enhance security measures when it comes to the equipment on-hand. However, he feels the root of the problem comes down to the people and the security in place at the club.
"The people they have working the security at Club Marcella are inadequate. That's the bottom line," said Flynn in an interview with WBEN. "Like the commissioner said, they have done all the equipment fixes they can do. They've got the cameras up, they've got computer screens, all the electronic and equipment fixes. I'm gonna give the owners their due credit, I'm not gonna say anything bad about that at all. They've made significant efforts in that regard. The problem is who they're hiring as security, because they're not doing the job.
"I think we just need to cut right to the chase here and, in my opinion, say that until they can convince the city that they have addressed their people problem/security people problem, they shouldn't be opened back up."
Slyder continues to believe Club Marcella is the safest place in the City of Buffalo, when it comes to security during hours of operation.
"20 security armed guards outside, two pat downs, a metal detector, 92 cameras with a person who sits in real time and oversees it, and there are a number of other features I cannot discuss. We do more than anybody else, and the police constantly agree with that, they confirm that," he said. "So the problem then becomes, how do we coordinate and cooperate with the police to prevent the kind of crimes that are going to continue?"
Earlier this year, Slyder has asked and presented the City of Buffalo with an integrated security model for the Cobblestone District that has worked in the past with his nightclub ventures in Miami, Fla. This after the Feb. 12 shooting at the club that left one person fatally shot and two others wounded.
Slyder has expressed in the past it is "impossible to achieve success and safety without the support of a city’s police department and local officials."
"When residents move in and you have an increase in residential living - which is a great thing for any city, and I welcome that in the City of Buffalo - it's a measure of the healthiness and stability of the core of a city. The residents complain, and one of their primary complaints is you're draining our police and emergency services, your entertainment district or bar, and you know what, they're right. So to be responsible stakeholders, you really have to put your money where your mouth is. You have to say to the police, the residents, the city leaders, I am proving to you that I'm committed, because I'm not going to fall back on my position of, 'I pay taxes as a business, and police are a part of those taxes.' That's a foolish, inconsiderate and selfish position, and I believe that is true for the people on Chippewa. I've never been that way, Joe's never been that way," Slyder said.
"Over the history of our club, we've never asked for a dime from anybody. We pay our bills, we're hardworking people, and we believe to be responsible for our business. Joe's here every weekend working this business. He's not off on a beach somewhere, because we believe that part of running a nightclub, given the kind of crime and disturbance that affects nightlife industry, you have to be present in your business, you have to be responsible. And when it comes to the police helping you, it's not a handout, it's a hand up."
Where Slyder feels there is a problem with the Cobblestone District is it's new, but still has a lot of dark spaces, vacant buildings and graffiti, which can create a situation ripe for crime.
"When you're the only business open after 2 a.m. besides from the casino, which is a separate nation, then [people] are going to continue to do the awful, evil things that they do," Slyder said. "What people have to understand is there's a limit of lawfulness. Even if I have armed guards, they're not supposed to pull your guns, they're really meant as a deterrence.
"The Oct. 1 shooting at the casino across the street, that was their shooting, not ours. What you saw was the shooter pulling up, and four of our guys were outside well after we closed. Joe and I pay for people to be out there well after we close as a deterrence. He saw them, we were 30 feet away and he still pulled the trigger. They pulled their guns, and thank God they didn't shoot. There is a level of lawfulness we cannot cross, because we're not law enforcement. Outside guardianship, which means the police, has to be there to handle that level of crime. I can't do it."
Having designed the system and renovated the vacant building that eventually became Club Marcella, Slyder says he's very proud of what he and Guagliardo have done. He also believes they will continue to revise and work to continue making Club Marcella as safe as possible, whenever the nightclub reopens.
"We never sit back. We always try to think, what's the next move?," Slyder said. "After the unfortunate, terrible incident on Feb. 12, we went to the city immediately and asked for a zoning variance to construct a 9-foot fence. By the way, the zoning rules are 6-foot, even 4-foot fences. We did that, we also put extra cameras, and we shared the apps on those cameras with our neighbors. I constantly try to say, what can we do to improve who we are?
"I'm not opening unless I feel this place is safe. I will not live with that, and the community needs to understand that. Joe and I have always put safety first, and I can prove it. Because over the years, we've really demonstrated that we're trying to do the very best that we can."