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Police Seek to Close Nightclub After Bouncer Is Arrested for Shooting

By Rachel Holliday Smith | June 13, 2014 3:21pm | Updated on June 16, 2014 8:57am
 Police are working to shut down Secrets nightclub on Nostrand Avenue.
Police are working to shut down Secrets nightclub on Nostrand Avenue.
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DNAinfo/Rachel Holliday Smith

CROWN HEIGHTS — Police are working to shut down a Nostrand Avenue nightclub after one of its bouncers shot a man outside the club in May, they said.

Officers from the 77th Precinct arrested a bouncer employed by Secrets nightclub, located at 724 Nostrand Ave. between Prospect Place and Park Place, in connection to the May 18 shooting of a 34-year-old man around the corner from the venue.

The bouncer, whose name was not released by police, was arrested June 5, according to Capt. Peter Rose, who spoke about the arrest at a community precinct meeting Monday night. Investigators determined he had been illegally carrying a weapon and was not licensed by the state to be a security guard.

“We’re looking to work with the legal bureau to close the place,” Rose told residents who brought up concerns about late-night noise at the club. “It’s being deemed a nuisance premise and we’re exploring legal avenues.”

Rose added that the owner of Secrets has not been cooperating with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office or the precinct about the shooting investigation.

Calls to the club and its owner, identified on Secrets’ website as Mikey, were not returned. The club’s manager, reached by phone, said he was not aware of the shooting, the bouncer's arrest or the attempt by the precinct to shut down the club.

Secrets, which has operated since 2007, is known for being loud, rowdy and often open until 6 a.m., according to locals who declined to be quoted. Records from the city’s 311 system show 23 separate complaints since the beginning of the year for noise on Secrets' block coming from either a party, “loud music" or “loud talking.”

Rose said while Secrets is allowed to serve liquor until 4 a.m., according to its license, club staff admitted they have been allowing patrons to stay until well past dawn, by claiming they are serving them breakfast.

“We have no information that he’s actually serving liquor past the hours he’s allowed to,” Rose said. “His conversation with Inspector Lott [the commanding officer of the 77th Precinct] was [that] he was staying open to serve food.”

The district attorney's office did not respond to an inquiry about the investigation into Secrets.