City to sue nightclub as 'public nuisance'

RALEIGH -- City leaders took aim at a troubled East Raleigh nightclub Monday by moving forward with plans to have Club Envy declared a public nuisance and permanently shuttered..

Raleigh's City Council voted to have its attorney file a public nuisance lawsuit against the club, which previously operated as Black Tie Nightclub in its location across New Bern Avenue from WakeMed Raleigh Campus. The lawsuit should be filed later this week, said Thomas McCormick, Raleigh's city attorney.

The club already lost its liquor license late last month when the state N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission yanked the club's ability to sell alcohol in reaction to a fight where two men were shot and injured in the club's parking lot. Raleigh police have responded to several stabbings, assaults, gunfire and weapons violations at the club, according to Raleigh police reports. A Durham man was shot to death in 2007 in the club's parking lot.

Club owner Benjamin Becker said he hasn't had the club open since he lost the ability to sell alcohol. The club had metal detectors installed, and Becker had about half of his 65-person staff dedicated to security when the club was operating.

Becker said he wasn't aware the city was moving forward with the public nuisance lawsuit, and he declined to comment when reached Monday evening.

If a judge agrees with Raleigh city leaders that the club is a public nuisance, it would permanently shut it down and the club couldn't be moved to another location, McCormick said.