Club marred by violence calls it quits after city objects to bid to renew liquor license
Another hip-hop venue in Seattle has closed because of city objections. This time it's Queen Anne's Club Level 5 in the 300 block of Fifth Ave. N.
"The primary reason is that five people have been shot around the area related to Level 5 since (last) October," said assistant city attorney James Kenny.
In the October incident, according to a police report, a patron at the all-ages club got upset when someone stepped on his shoe inside the place and retaliated outside by shooting four people, one of them a bouncer.
The latest shooting incident took place outside at closing on Feb. 29, when a fight that began inside continued in the Memorial Stadium parking lot, where one of the patrons was wounded, according to the city's letter to the Liquor Control Board.
And as happened with the Mr. Lucky hip-hop club on First Avenue North across the street from KeyArena, the city targeted Level 5's liquor license, which was up for renewal at the end of April, Kenny said.
The city opposed the license renewal, according to a March 27 letter to the Liquor Control Board, because of "chronic illegal action" that stretches back to May 2006, when a bouncer's hand was cut by a knife-wielding patron who had caused a disturbance in the club. In all, the city letter to the Liquor Control Board lists 27 incidents linked to the club and its patrons.
Jason Brotman - a Queen Anne resident who is the manager and one of the club's owners - told the News following the October shootings that he was canceling the regular all-ages events on Friday nights. Additional security was also hired at the club, which can hold up to 1,000 people, he added.
That was on top of existing policies that called for a strict dress code, full ID checks, pat-down searches and wanding club-goers with metal detectors, Brotman said.
Level 5 had been closed until June because of remodeling which would turn the club into a venue for live music, Brotman said. But, faced with city objections, Brotman said, he withdrew the application for license renewal.
"They basically threw me under the bus," he said of the effect of the city's letters. "My frustration is, we did everything the city asked us to do." Brotman also claims the police reports cited in the letter contain blatant untruths. "Nothing ever happened inside our venue," he said.
Brotman also wonders how he was supposed to control the type of people who showed up at the club's events. "It's an impossible standard we're being held to," he said.
Still, Brotman makes no apologies for featuring that kind of music in his Queen Anne club. "Hip-hop is the number-one draw in the (music) world right now," he said.
Brotman also blames the city for part of his problems. The city, he said, is trying to drive a vibrant Seattle nightlife industry into the ground. "What's going to happen is no one will want to be in the business."
There's also a question of fairness, according to Brotman, who said there are more violent incidents linked to high school basketball games at KeyArena than to people at his club.
There are economic considerations, as well. "We took a major financial hit, no bones about it," he said. Brotman has given up on Level 5 and will focus on his other businesses, one of which is a lounge, he said.
"I could have fought the city," Brotman reflected. "It just wasn't worth it to me."
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