Cops clubbing nightspots

Kalua one of many targeted

The Kalua Cabaret strip club in Queens isn't the only nightspot being targeted by the special NYPD task force at the center of the fatal police shooting of 23-year-old Sean Bell.

The club enforcement unit is trying to close five other clubs - four in Chelsea on Manhattan's West Side and one in Jamaica, Queens, police told the Daily News.

In recent months, the task force has gone into state Supreme Court seeking to close Chelsea clubs like Crobar, Home, Stereo and Sol armed with evidence of alleged criminal activity, including serving alcohol to minors and drug use by patrons, authorities said.

The targeted clubs are all within an area bordered by W. 26th St. and W. 29th St. and Eighth and 12th Aves.

The NYPD began flooding the club scene in July after 18-year-old Jennifer Moore, a college-bound girl from New Jersey, was abducted, raped and killed.

Moore got into the Guest House on W. 27th St. and drank heavily with another underage pal on July 25 before wandering outside and eventually getting separated from her friend. Her body was later found in a trash bin in Weehawken, N.J.

Her death sparked outrage and led the NYPD to create the special club unit to combat underage drinking, drug dealing, gambling and prostitution at city clubs.

"It would appear that things are getting better," said Robert Benfatto, district manager of Community Board 4, which includes part of Chelsea. "The number of complaints have gone down."

The task force shut down Spirit, a trendy nightspot at 530 W. 27th St., on Aug. 25 after cops allegedly caught bartenders serving alcohol to minors, patrons selling drugs and partygoers smoking pot.

A new owner plans to reopen under the closed club's liquor license and a hearing is scheduled for next week.

But cops are determined to keep the club closed and see others around it shuttered.

The police task force has made 54 felony arrests, 74 misdemeanor arrests and issued 32 Criminal Court summonses at more than 100 clubs, lounges and restaurants in Chelsea since August.