State: Tavern Has 28 Violations
/By Janee Law
jlaw@longislandergroup.com
Huntington Councilman Mark Cuthbertson, right-center, demands at a press conference last week that the New York State Liquor Authority revoke the liquor license of Melissa Restaurant.
In its quest to revoke the liquor license of Melissa Restaurant, the New York State Liquor Authority has brought 28 alleged violations against the Huntington Station tavern, officials said.
NYSLA spokesman Bill Crowley said the violations -- which include allowing others to use the tavern’s liquor license, allowing the establishment to become disorderly and selling counterfeit or untaxed tobacco products – were uncovered following a joint investigation by Suffolk police and the authority.
The NYSLA is seeking to revoke the liquor license of the 1419 New York Ave. tavern after, according to police reports, 129 violent crimes were reported at or near the tavern over a five-year period.
But Scott Lockwood, the North Babylon-based attorney representing Melissa Restaurant co-owners Jose and Maria Bautista, said Wednesday that the tavern is being used as a “scapegoat for the problems in Huntington Station.”
“Certainly the owners of Melissa Tavern don’t want violence or crime in their business, they want customers,” Lockwood said. “[Officials] need to address the core problem and not drive businesses, who have roots in the community, out. I don’t see how that’s productive in anyway shape or form.”
Reached by phone on Tuesday, Jose Bautista said he doesn’t understand why the state is seekingto revoke the tavern’s liquor license.
“We’re there for a long time,” he said. “I don’t know what happened.”
NYSLA officials met with a judge and the Bautistas on Friday at the Nassau Supreme Court building in Mineola for a disapproval hearing.
Another hearing, which will focus on the 28 alleged violations that the NYSLA investigation uncovered after the first hearing, is slated for Nov. 18 at 9 a.m., according to Crowley. During that meeting, a date and time for a third meeting is expected to be scheduled.
“We have serious charges against them,” Crowley said. “We are going to continue the hearings and this will go to the members of the authority for determination on any penalty.”
Huntington Councilman Mark Cuthbertson has been petitioning the NYSLA to revoke the 1419 New York Ave. tavern’s license.
“There is a well-documented history of violence and assault at this establishment,” Cuthbertson said at Thursday’s press conference in Huntington Station, where he was joined with other town officials. “The fact of the matter is that liquor and this establishment don’t mix and it is really time for last call at Melissa Tavern.”
According to police, violent incidents that have been reported at the tavern include a shooting in March, when a man was shot in the arm while in the parking lot of the tavern. Also, in 2014, a man was found dead behind the tavern after apparently being stabbed to death. The most recent incident occurred on Oct. 22, when a man in a hooded sweatshirt fired gunshots in front of the tavern.
“I bet you 95 percent of the people who frequent the tavern are law-abiding, hard-working citizens but it’s the 5 percent, and the constant rap sheet that goes on with this establishment, that is a blight on our community,” Cuthbertson said.
Along with the issues of violence and violations alleged by the NYSLA, the Town of Huntington fire marshal has also issued a summons for multiple code violation, according to Cuthbertson.
A court appearance is slated for Jan. 11, 2017 at the Third District Court in Huntington Station
