Residents near House of Lancaster fed up with violence

WATCH ABOVE: Residents who live near the House of Lancaster strip club say they want it shut down. Catherine McDonald has more on the investigation into a fatal shooting from last year and the encouraging news for people in the neighbourhood.

TORONTO — The recent arrest of a suspect in the fatal shooting outside the House of Lancaster strip club in December has residents of the  Queensway neighbourhood speaking out about the violence in the area.

The shooting is the third in four years, and residents are fed up.

“I just think it shouldn’t be where family restaurants and besides homes were people live, it could just be a little more discreet,” said one area resident.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I just think it shouldn't be where family restaurants and besides homes were people live, it could just be a little more discreet," said one area resident.

Dagmara Romanska, who has a 7 year old and 9 year old daughter said “as a mother with kids, I’m concerned, I would like to see it go.”

READ MORE: Suspect surrenders to police in Toronto strip club shooting

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Superintendent Shaun Narine says after the latest shooting last December, paid duty officers were pulled from the venue but 22 division decided to put more on-duty officers on patrol on so called “entertainment nights,” after realizing some of those attending the night of the shooting had gang affiliations.

Narine says he believes due to increased police presence, attendance at these events is down. Some nights the club only seeing 20-30 customers.

This is despite the fact the House of Lancaster has brought in names like Snoop Dogg and Nelly as headliners.

The councillor for the area, Justin Di Ciano, gives credit to police for responding to residents’ concerns and increasing patrols.

“Whether they’ve gone to another area or a facility that just has less attention from police, we’re just happy that the situation appears to be under control,”  Di Ciano said.

Di Ciano also said he’s spoken with the owner of the strip club on a number of occasions and believes he’s considering shutting down the club.

“The House of Lancaster site is certainly one that a lot of developers are looking at, and the owner is in discussions with a lot of them”.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The House of Lancaster site is certainly one that a lot of developers are looking at, and the owner is in discussions with a lot of them".

The owner of the House of Lancaster, Spiro Koumoudourous, was unavailable for comment.

Di Ciano said a Starbucks will open a few blocks east of the strip club along the Queensway within weeks. He also said the city has plans to plant trees to beautify the street.

The councillor, who lives in the area with his own young family, understands residents concerns and believes within a few years, the strip club will be gone and predicts massage parlours in the area will also pack up too.