Two restaurants and a pool hall in East Boston get a week to show what they're doing about all the stabbings outside their doors

The Boston Licensing Board today gave three Bennington Street establishments a week to develop a security plan to cut down on violent closing-time incidents after an A-7 detective testified their block has become "the most violent area in East Boston."

Bohemios Restaurant, the Billares Colombia pool hall and La Terraza were all hauled before the board because of a stabbing around 2:20 a.m. on Oct. 27 in which a patron of La Terazza got into an argument with somebody on the street outside and wound up getting slashed twice by a guy waving a long knife around. The guy had first tried to stab a restaurant bouncer, but he proved more nimble than the unfortunate customer, who had spent the night drinking beers.

Police said this was just the latest in a string of "multiple stabbings" and other violent incidents in recent months along their stretch of Bennington Street.

After the stabbing, the attacker fled - followed by a woman in a car who had to give up the pursuit when the guy turned onto the one-way Marion Street and, a detective said, she did not feel safe driving the wrong way up the street. His victim was unable to provide much information about his attacker, save that the guy might go by the nickname "El Ninja," because of the amount of beer he had consumed, police told the board.

Owners of the three establishments agreed to meet with police to see what they could do - including possibly hiring off-duty officers for weekend closing duty.

But they said they felt they were being unfairly blamed for their location at a major East Boston crossroads that has become a closing-time attraction all in itself. They said troublemakers from Chelsea have been flocking to the intersection ever since that city closed a couple of bars where they used to congregate.

"We're victims here, too," one owner said.

At that point, board Chairwoman Christine Pulgini had heard enough.

"You're going to sit down with the police," she told the owners. "This isn't going to happen anymore."