14 APRIL 26, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Patrizia’s gives Queens another
shot with new Maspeth location
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@R_KELLEY6
A widespread New York-based
Italian restaurant and pizzeria
is making its return to Queens
with a soon-to-open location on Grand
Avenue in Maspeth.
Patrizia’s will open on the corner of
Grand Avenue and 69th Place — the
former site of a McDonald’s — sometime
in the late spring or early summer,
according to a spokesperson for the
restaurant.
While the spokesperson said a
target opening date has not been set,
renovations to the interior and exterior
of the building have been underway
for several weeks.
The spokesperson added that
the Grand Avenue location was “so
eye-catching, it was a no-brainer.” The
interior renovations will be modeled
aft er the more traditional style of the
chain’s original location in the Tremont
neighborhood of the Bronx, with
brick walls, dark red paint and wood
fl oors, the spokesperson said.
Founded in 1991, Patrizia’s now has
eight locations throughout four of the
fi ve boroughs and Long Island. The
Maspeth restaurant will be its fi rst in
Queens, though the chain once opened
a Bayside location that survived for
less than a year at a Parks Department
owned building that has been a
revolving door for eateries.
Patrizia’s is also working on opening
another Long Island location in Massapequa,
as well as its fi rst New Jersey
location in Old Tappan, according to
its website.
Photo: Ryan Kelley/RIDGEWOOD TIMES
Workers paint the exterior of Patrizia's on April 5, soon to open on Grand
Avenue in Maspeth.
Maspeth karaoke bar loses liquor
license over drug & sex sales
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@ROBBPOZ
Following two recent police
raids that netted 15 arrests for
drug and sex sales, the State
Liquor Authority (SLA) announced
on Thursday that it indefinitely
suspended a Maspeth karaoke bar’s
liquor license.
Huang Jia Inc., located at 55-30 58th St.,
garnered 22 violations of the state’s ABC
Law, including disorderly premises
for permitting prostitution, gambling,
traffi cking of controlled substances,
failure to supervise and for becoming
a focal point of police attention.
The violations were issued in the
wake of two separate enforcement
operations that the SLA and NYPD
Vice Enforcement Division conducted
on the premises on April 12 and
April 14.
During the fi rst raid, according
to the SLA, cops and investigators
executed a search warrant and recovered
97 packs of untaxed cigarettes,
jars and bags full of ketamine, illegal
gaming devices and records tracking
prostitution activity. They also encountered
various hazards including
overcrowding and blocked exits.
The bar’s owner — Brooklyn’s Wen
Chen, 40 — and eight others wound
up in handcuff s on charges including
criminal possession of a controlled
substance, promoting prostitution and
possession of illegal gaming devices.
Police and SLA agents returned to
Huang Jia two days later and made
six more arrests upon discovering
ketamine in three separate karaoke
rooms. A number of patrons were
also seen consuming alcohol aft er
closing hours.
Law enforcement agents had
their eyes on Huang Jia for many
weeks before the April enforcement
operations, the SLA noted. Cops
arrested patrons on three separate
occasions in February for possessing
controlled substances including ketamine.
On Feb. 9, they also arrested a
19-year-old patron on a DWI charge
near the premises and learned he had
consumed alcohol at Huang Jia before
getting behind the wheel.
On Feb. 22, police stopped an
individual who had exited Huang
Jia moments earlier for making an
illegal U-turn. After pulling the
vehicle over, cops found narcotics
residue, a box containing empty
drug vials and a Hello Kitty bag with
more than $105,000 in cash inside of it.
The driver and two other individuals
inside the vehicle were subsequently
arrested for money laundering and
criminal use of drug paraphernalia.
Undercover offi cers who visited the
establishment on March 15 and March
23 also received sexual solicitations
from alleged prostitutes, according to
a criminal complaint that the Queens
District Attorney’s offi ce provided.
Workers off ered to perform sexual
favors in exchange for cash payments
ranging from $300 for intercourse to
$5,000 for an all-night romp.
“This licensee (Chen) has shown an
abject disregard for the rules of the authority
and the laws of this state, placing
her patrons, police offi cers and the
public at serious risk,” SLA Counsel
Christopher R. Riano said. “Any
licensee who jeopardizes public safety
by fostering an environment where
prostitution, narcotics sales and gambling
run rampant will be shut down
by the authority immediately.”
Court records noted that Chen was
released without bail following her
April 12 arrest, but must return to
court on June 12.
As with similar emergency suspensions,
the licensee is entitled to an
expedited hearing before an administrative
law judge. The suspension
remains in eff ect until the SLA or
a reviewing court may modify the
order.
Photo via Google Maps
Huang Jia Inc. in Maspeth had its liquor license suspended on April 18
for alleged drug use, illegal gaming on premises and prostitution.
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