FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 7, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
New Year’s bash at Maspeth bar busted for COVID violations
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com
@robbpoz
An illegal New Year’s party in Maspeth
that attracted hundreds of people was
busted by the New York City Sheriff ’s
Offi ce early on New Year’s Day.
Four individuals were arrested at the
illegal rave for various violations of health
and safety codes, as well as emergency
orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic,
the sheriff ’s offi ce tweeted on Jan. 1.
Around 2 a.m. on Jan. 1, deputies fi guratively
turned out the lights on more
than 300 people gathered for a New Year’s
bash at the Maspeth Bar/Loungeat 55-30
58th St. in Maspeth.
Th e party violated various city and state
COVID-19 emergency orders, which prohibit
gatherings of more than 10 people
inside locations and forbid alcohol service
at any location aft er 10 p.m. nightly,
among other items. Th e owner faces fi nes
of up to $15,000.
Th e location also lacked a proper license
to serve and store liquor, as well as an
obstructed egress and various other health
code violations, the sheriff ’s offi ce indicated
in a tweet.
Th e deputies also saw more than 25
people enter the premises through an
emergency exit that had been locked
from the outside. More than 300 people
inside the location drank, sang karaoke
and danced without observing mask and
social distancing requirements.
Th e remaining partygoers at the lounge
were sent home.
Four individuals at the Queens party
were taken into custody on various charges
related to the operation of the illegal bottle
club: Man Phan, 37, of Franklin Square,
Long Island (identifi ed as the bar owner);
He Bin Wang, 37, of Franklin Square
(Phan’s wife); Guowei Lin, 44, of Fresh
Meadows, Queens (DJ); and Fang Zou, 35,
of Borough Park, Brooklyn (employee).
Suspect in Elmhurst bomb hoax turns himself in
BY JACOB KAYE
jkaye@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e suspect wanted in connection
with the car bomb hoax in the Queens
Place Mall parking garage on Jan. 4,
turned himself in to the authorities the
next day, according to law enforcement
offi cials.
Louis Shenker, 22, called 911 and
turned himself into a Brooklyn precinct
on Tuesday, Jan. 5, around 3 a.m., aft er a
police investigation into the bomb hoax
began the morning prior.
Shenker, whose last known address was
in Amherst, Mass., has yet to be charged
in the bomb hoax, which was met with the
NYPD’s bomb squad and caused an evacuation
of Queens Place Mall on Monday,
according to law enforcement offi cials.
Th e bomb scare was fi rst reported
around 7:30 a.m., on Monday, Jan. 4,
when a black Tesla Model S with Nevada
plates, which was allegedly stolen, was
spotted with protruding wires inside the
Elmhurst mall parking lot, law enforcement
offi cials said.
Investigating the suspicious vehicle, the
NYPD sealed off several blocks around
the garage and evacuated both the shopping
center and several nearby buildings.
Several hours later, around 11 a.m., law
enforcement offi cials determined the car
was rigged to appear to be a bomb, though
it was ultimately found not to be, according
to the NYPD.
Police later discovered a husky dog,
which was rescued by offi cers, inside the
car, along with sticks, propane tanks, hot
dogs and an assortment of other seemingly
random items, according to law
enforcement offi cials.
Social media posts allegedly authored
by Shenker, appear to express right-wing
conspiracy sentiments, echoing the recent
Christmas Day Nashville bombing, allegedly
carried out by Anthony Warner, who
is believed to have espoused similar sentiments.
An Instagram account believed to
belong to Shenker uses the “StopTh eSteal”
hashtag in its bio, a hashtag championed
by supporters of President Donald Trump
– and the president, himself – who falsely
believe Trump won the November presidential
election.
In a video posted to Twitter by the
account Out Live Th em NYC, Shenker,
who identifi es himself by his full name,
argues with a Black Lives Matter protester.
Th e video shows Shenker, who appears to
be recording the argument as well, threatening
to send the video to the popular farright
conspiracy website InfoWars.
“My name is Louis Shenker, L-O-UI
S S-H-E-N-K-E-R,” the 22-year-old says
in the video. “And any f-king communist
anit-Semite piece of sh-t who thinks that
America is going to become a communist
nation…” he says before the video ends.
Th e offi ce of Queens District Attorney
Melinda Katz has not responded to QNS’
request for comment.
Th e investigation is ongoing.
NYC Sheriff ’s offi cers outside the Maspeth Bar/Lounge on 58th Street on Jan. 1, 2021.
Police offi cers and FDNY units along Queens Boulevard near Queens Place Mall in Elmhurst on Jan. 4, 2021.
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