Queens Gazette

State Suspends Home Restaurant Liquor License




State Liquor Authority officials (SLA) suspended the liquor license of a troubled Astoria restaurant on October 4th.

In suspending the license for Home Restaurant and Lounge at 28-49 Steinway Street, the SLA cited a history of 17 violent incidents at the location since January, including sexual assaults, slashings and one incident where a bouncer punched a customer in the face while wearing brass knuckles.

“This licensee has demonstrated an inability to comply with the law and has taken zero measures to provide for the safety of their patrons,” the agency said in a prepared statement. “Home has become a continuous source of disorder for the 114th Precinct.”

The suspension allows the restaurant to remain open while prohibiting the sale of alcohol to customers.  

The restaurant has racked up more than 100 911 and 311 complaints since its liquor license was issued just over a year ago, police said. That includes a September 30th incident where a bouncer assaulted a “very intoxicated” patron, sending the man to an area hospital with a broken jaw and other serious injuries.

“Home Restaurant’s history reads like a crime novel,” a police source said. “Beatings, slashings, guns and knives and people getting hurt all over the place.”

A joint enforcement initiative between the NYPD and the SLA on March 7th revealed more than 25 violations that resulted in 19 criminal court summonses for incidents sparked, in part, by “unruly and unsupervised patrons,” the source said.

One day before Home’s liquor license was suspended the SLA slapped the restaurant owners with three violations of the alcoholic beverage control law for operating a disorderly premise, failure to conform with their application and lack of supervision, the source said.

The SLA currently has three other cases pending against the restaurant including serving intoxicated patrons, employing unlicensed bouncers and for operating as a “focal point” of police attention, the source said.

–Liz Goff



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