Forum Photo by Patricia Adams
The emergency suspension of New Oriental Guyana Restaurant’s license was ordered Friday at a special meeting of the Full Board of the State Liquor Authority.
By Michael V. Cusenza
The State Liquor Authority has suspended the license of a Richmond Hill bar that was found operating “in flagrant violation” of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive order to cease on-premises sales of food and alcoholic beverages to combat the spread of the coronavirus, agency officials announced Friday.
According to the SLA and City Police Department, on Wednesday, March 18, cops discovered New Oriental Guyana Restaurant Inc., at 115-22 Liberty Ave., in full operation with approximately 40 patrons inside, ignoring not only the clear directives of the governor, but also a warning from NYPD officers the night before to cease operations.
Police report the bar attempted to avoid detection by functioning in quasi-speakeasy fashion: closing the rolldown gate at the front entrance to the premises and slipping patrons in through a rear alley door.
As soon as Prohibition went into effect in 1920, law enforcement agents began shutting down bars and clubs across the country. However, the ban on alcohol didn’t keep people from seeking it out, and almost as quickly, “speakeasies” began to emerge, according to American Addiction Centers. Speakeasies, often located in underground dens or dark saloons that did not draw much attention from the outside, were illicit establishments that sold alcoholic beverages.
On Friday, the SLA charged the New Oriental Guyana Restaurant, which remained shuttered this week, with multiple violations, including for its failure to comply with Cuomo’s executive orders concerning coronavirus restaurant restrictions and for its failure to supervise the licensed premises.
According to the SLA, the State Administrative Procedure Act authorizes a State agency to summarily suspend a license when the agency finds that public health, safety, or welfare requires emergency action. When the SLA summarily suspends a license, it also serves a Notice of Pleading alleging one or more disciplinary violations. In invoking a summary suspension, the SLA has deemed the violation to be sufficiently serious upon initial review to warrant an immediate suspension.
The SLA’s decision to summarily suspend a license is not a final determination on the merits of the case. The licensee is entitled to an expedited administrative law hearing before an administrative law judge. An order of summary suspension remains in effect until such time as it is modified by the SLA or a reviewing court.
The emergency suspension of New Oriental Guyana Restaurant’s license was ordered Friday by Chairman Vincent Bradley, Commissioner Lily Fan, and Commissioner Greeley Ford at a special meeting of the Full Board, conducted remotely under social-distancing guidelines. During the suspension period the SLA intends to seek the permanent cancellation or revocation of the license.
“As Gov. Cuomo has emphatically stated, these directives are not helpful hints, they are not suggestions, they are mandatory and SLA will not hesitate to take immediate action to protect the public health and safety against the spread of the coronavirus,” Bradley said. “I want to thank our partners with the NYPD as well as the overwhelming majority of restaurant and bar owners who have followed these undeniably difficult measures, placing the health of their employees and communities above profits in these trying times.”
