SLA suspends liquor license of Queens
bar chain for violating executive order
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | JUNE 5-11, 2020 11
of a bag of chips.
The investigator was
given permission to
drink the beverage inside
the bar, according
to the SLA.
The restaurant was
given a summons for
violating the executive
order, the agency said.
Over in Astoria,
Hangar Astoria Bar
& Grill was first given
a summons on April
25, following numerous
complaints regarding
patrons consuming alcohol
inside the bar and
on the sidewalk outside.
About a month later,
on May 21, an SLA investigator
conducting
surveillance on the
Astoria bar, found that
numerous patrons were
drinking inside the bar
and directly outside it.
The liquor license
suspensions will remain
until the case is
reviewed in court.
Neither Hangar Bar
& Grill nor Hangar
Astoria Bar & Grill responded
to request for
comment.
BY JACOB KAYE
Two Queens restaurants
had their liquor
licenses suspended last
week after violating
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s
executive order
that required bars and
restaurants to halt all
on-premises food and
alcohol services, the
New York State Liquor
Authority announced
on Friday.
The two restaurants
— Hangar Bar & Grill,
located at 119-11 Metropolitan
Ave., in Kew
Gardens, and Hangar
Astoria Bar & Grill,
located at 24-43 Steinway
St., in Astoria —
share common ownership.
From late March
to early May, 80 311
complaints were made
against the Kew Gardens
restaurant while
23 were made against
the Astoria location, according
to the State Liquor
Authority (SLA).
Both locations received
multiple warnings
and summonses regarding
the complaints
but both restaurants
continued to violate the
executive order by selling
alcohol in unsealed
containers without the
purchase of food, while
also not enforcing social
distancing guidelines,
the SLA claims.
“Despite numerous
warnings and clear
guidance from the SLA,
it’s obvious this licensee
is simply exploiting
the new ‘to go’ privileges
and endangering
the lives of his employees,
police and his community
in the process,”
SLA Chairman Vincent
Bradley said. “The SLA
will not hesitate to
take immediate actions
against licensees who
allow patrons to congregate
and linger, creating
a dangerous environment
the governor’s
Executive Orders were
implemented to avoid.”
The trouble began
at the Metropolitan
Avenue location when
NYPD officers showed
up to the restaurant on
April 10, after a handful
of complaints were
made about the restaurant,
according to the
SLA. The next day, after
receiving another complaint,
the NYPD arrived
at the location to
find four patrons inside
the bar, the SLA said.
The bar owners were issued
a warning and the
patrons were ordered to
leave.
Following several
other visits — one of
which found over 50
people both inside and
outside the bar — the
NYPD and SLA conducted
a joint operation
on May 19, in which and
undercover SLA investigator
purchased an
unsealed alcoholic beverage
with the purchase
Photos via Google Maps
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