The Doral City Council approved an ordinance that reduces the hours of operation and sale of alcohol, and introduces new security measures in the nightlife establishments of that city, following the shooting at CityPlace Doral last April, where a Cuban security guard lost his life.
Two months after the incident in which young George Alejandro Castellanos, 23, was killed at the Martini Bar where he worked, the political authorities of Doral have implemented measures aimed at reinforcing security in nightclubs and bars, which will close earlier.
The new municipal regulation, approved on June 12 in a second reading, by four votes in favor and one against, establishes that establishments with extended hours license must close at 3:30 a.m., and the last call to request alcoholic beverages will be at 2:30 a.m. Previously, businesses with extended liquor sale license closed their doors at 4:00 a.m. and were authorized to sell until 3:50 a.m.
This municipal regulation also includes security measures such as the mandatory installation of metal detection systems at the entrance of these establishments to prevent armed individuals from entering.
Likewise, business owners will have to hire an off-duty police officer starting at 11:00 p.m. and install internal security systems such as surveillance cameras.
According to a statement from the Doral Council, this ordinance aims to decrease the possibility of a shooting like the one on April 6 inside the Martini Bar at CityPlace Doral.
In the tragic incident, Castellanos died as a result of the shots fired by a man identified as Jamal Wood, involved in a dispute among customers over the use of a chair.
Two police officers intervened in the fight and exchanged shots with the armed individual, who was eventually shot down. Seven other people who were in the bar were injured.
The new municipal regulation was originally presented by councilwoman Maureen Porras following the fatal incident. Regarding the importance of implementing and enforcing local regulations, Porras told Telemundo51: “If we are going to create a code, we are going to enforce it and make sure that it is not only being enforced, but also effective.”
The vote against approving the ordinance was cast by Mayor Christi Fraga, who had proposed a closing time of 2:00 a.m. "I did not agree that security measures should only be mandatory for establishments with extended hours. In my proposal, I wanted to include all nightlife venues," the mayor told AmericaTeVé.
According to a note from this channel, legal representatives of the night entertainment venues in Doral had already expressed their disagreement with the measures imposed by this new ordinance.
If the regulation is definitively implemented, nighttime establishments that fail to comply could receive fines and even be shut down.
A meeting is scheduled for August to analyze the ordinance again, whose revision could be requested by some council members before its entry into force at the end of September, as indicated by AmericaTeVé.
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