NY Daily Record Since 1908
After two people died in a stampede at the venue, Rochester city officials have notified the owner of the Main Street Armory that his application to renew his license to operate has been denied.
On Sunday, at the end of a concert, the audience ran for the exits after hearing gunshots.
“Your contracted event security guards were unable to control the crowd as they were running, which in turn caused a human stampede,” the city wrote in a letter to Scott Donaldson, who operates the facility under the name Main Street Castle Entertainment LLC.
On Monday, Rhondesia Belton, 33, of Buffalo, died because of the stampede. On Wednesday, Brandy Miller, 35, of Rochester died. On Thursday, Rochester police announced that a third victim, Aisha Stephens of Syracuse, had died.
Donaldson was invited to meet Wednesday with city officials where he would have had a choice to voluntarily cease holding events pending the outcome of investigations, or have the pending renewal of their license denied, according to city officials.
Donaldson did not attend the meeting and the license renewal application was denied.
The Armory, located at 900 E. Main St., now is prohibited from hosting “any public entertainment, which includes concerts, amplified music, and athletic events or games, including volleyball or cheerleading,” according to city officials.
