An early morning shooting Sunday in Cincinnati's Main Street entertainment district is the final straw for some of the district's bar owners. They say they plan to contact Cincinnati police officials, Mayor Charlie Luken and City Council members today to ask police to crack down on crime in the area.

        “There was a time when the Main Street entertainment district, before the riots, made a lot of money for the city, and now you have places like The Diner that have gone out of business,” said Scott Carter, owner of Neons cigar bar and tavern on East 12th Street.

        “If they want to keep an entertainment center in Cincinnati that will be somewhat competitive with Newport on the Levee, they need to let the police monitor the crowd more,” Mr. Carter said.

        Business in the district has been slow and many owners have struggled since the April 2001 riots, Mr. Carter said. The last thing the area needs now, he said, is a shooting.

        Antonio Martin of Roselawn was shot inside his car, then dragged from his vehicle, at 2:30 a.m. Sunday in a parking lot at Sycamore Street at 12th Street, across from the abandoned Diner building, police said. Rescue personnel took him to University Hospital, where he was treated and released, a nursing supervisor said.

        Police said the gunman, who is still at large, carried a semi-automatic handgun.

        Mr. Carter and Jay Kirkpatrick, who operates The Lab bar at 12th and Main streets, say more trouble has developed since a new hip-hop club called Next Level opened May 10 across from Neons in the former Electra nightclub.

        Crowds gather in front of the Next Level, then filter up 12th Street, sometimes blocking the entrance to Mr. Carter's bar, a popular hangout for Cincinnati police officers.

        Police and city officials have said they have been watching the situation with the two bars across the street from each other. But officers say the biggest problems so far have been traffic-related: lots of cars cruise past the bar, causing some backup onto Main Street.

        Mr. Kirkpatrick is president of a group of 15 bar and restaurant owners called the Main Street Entertainment Group. They plan to invite city officials to discuss safety issues at a meeting Tuesday.

        Through an aide, Mayor Luken pledged Sunday to look into the shooting and see what he could do to improve security .

        “We've always been very supportive of the Main Street business district, including paying for increased security for them,” the mayor said through his aide, Brendon Cull.

        One of the Next Level's operators, Waleia Jackson, said Sunday that the man who was shot wasn't in her club beforehand.

        Enquirer reporter Jane Prendergast contributed.

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