Neir's Tavern burglarized

A GoFundMe has been set up by a fan of the bar to recover some of what was lost.

NY Post 

The historic Queens bar that was used to films scenes for “Goodfellas” was burglarized just three months after it opened for outdoor dining following a pandemic shutdown.

The Woodhaven watering hole was looted of the cash register, POS system, about $300 in cash and four bottles of booze from behind the bar by a pair of thieves, police sources said.

“I am just tired to be honest with you,” owner Loycent Gordon told The Post. “It’s another straw on top of everything. The weight is getting too heavy to carry.”

According to police sources, two men entered the premise through the basement door at 3 am on Friday morning, removed the cash register valued at $200, the $300 inside and four bottles of Jack Daniels valued at $160. They fled westbound on 88th Avenue. There have been no arrests and the investigation is ongoing.

After the robbery, a group called Neirs200, which is dedicated to ensuring the bar sees its bicentennial, set up a GoFundMe to support the bar.

Speaking to the thieves, an emotional Gordon said:

“I understand maybe you have to eat and feed your family, but we also have a family to feed. It’s a shame you have to burglarize someone to feed yours.”

He added that while he is disheartened and demoralized from the latest setback, he vowed to keep going.

“We are trying to be Rocky and keep fighting.”

World's quickest takedown?

Click here for the explosive story.

Breaking News: 4 women are said to have accused New York’s attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, of assault. He had long cast himself as a champion of women. https://t.co/AvFzL5EVfH

— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 7, 2018

Construction workers seek drug testing

From NY1:

Dozens of construction workers want the city council to enforce drug and alcohol testing for employees.

The Associated Builders and Contractors Empire State Chapter rallied Monday at the steps of City Hall, calling on the city to enforce the testing.

"Construction is hazardous enough already, without having to worry about if the person next to you is under the influence of something," said an advocate at the rally. "So I think testing that's done by a third party would be beneficial to help give workers the confidence to know that their job site is as safely run as possible."

A performance report that the group released says drug and alcohol use account for nearly one-third of construction accidents nationwide.

Avella protests sex offenders at shelters; Dromm protests booze ads

While Elmhurst residents were rallying against the presence of sex offenders at the Pan Am family shelter...



their council member, Danny Dromm, was protesting subway Budweiser ads with a bunch of bible thumpers.

Should we lighten up on minor offenses?

From DNA Info:

Penalties for drinking alcohol and urinating in public could be reduced under a package of bills being discussed by the city council next week.

Under the Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2016, drinking alcohol in public, littering, public urination, unreasonable noise and violating parks rules would largely be considered civil offenses punishable with summonses, according to a city council memo on the plan.

The legislation would remove the possibility of a permanent criminal record for urinating in public and violating park rules. Instead, police would create public guidelines about when those violations are civil or criminal offenses.

The city has used the "broken windows" theory of policing for years which holds that smaller offenses are predictors for larger crimes. Both Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton have remained strong defenders of the strategy in the face of criticism that the theory unjustly targets minorities and the poor.

Banks won't accept NYC ID

From DNA Info:

There are no banks that accept the ID as primary identification in Flushing, a heavily Asian-immigrant neighborhood. In Jackson Heights, Corona and Elmhurst, one of the most diverse sections of Queens, there are only three banks that take the card as a primary identification document. Banks categorize some identification documents as "primary"—usually driver's licenses, state IDs, passports, and foreign-issued IDs—and others, such as credit cards and leases, as "secondary."

And you can't buy a beer with one, either.

More details about Bayside house party gone wrong

From CBS New York:

A man and woman were arrested in front of the home later that day, but it was unclear as to why they were taken in, CBS2’s Matt Kozar reported. Neighbors said the woman lives at the home with her mother.

From the Daily News:

A man who gave his name as Joel said he rented the home out for the night on Airbnb and posted an invite on Instagram to the 9 p.m. birthday party.

Neighbor Lori Somekh, 56, said the “mob” of young people overran the neighborhood.

“You give kids alcohol and a gun and bad things happen,” said Somekh. “I always think weird things happen in the house. I’m always creeped out.”

Frankie Marchione, 20, was at the party and said most of the festivities were in the basement — where the shooting occurred.

People paid between $15 and $25 to get in, he said. Alcohol was served on the first floor of the house — but only those 21 and older got to go upstairs from the basement.

Bayside McMansion rented out on AirBnB for house party; 2 men shot

From Eyewitness News:

Two men were shot as they were leaving a house party overnight Saturday.

Around midnight on 28th Avenue in Bayside, following an argument with a man at the party, the first victim, 27, was shot in the torso. He was taken to New York Hospital Queens and is in critical condition.

The second victim, 23, also suffered a gunshot wound to the torso and was taken to North Shore Hospital, also critical.

The nature of the dispute is unknown. There have been no arrests.

The house was rented for the party.

The address? 213-45 28th Avenue.

No shortage of listings in Bayside!

Nonprofit boozed it up and got reimbursed

From Crains:

A Queens nonprofit received more than $150,000 in reimbursements from the state Office of Mental Health for inappropriate expenses, including almost $11,000 for alcohol at a two-day executive and board retreat in Montauk, L.I.

From July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2013, the Office of Mental Health paid PSCH $6.8 million to provide services and housing to people with mental illness. During that time, the Flushing nonprofit, whose initials stand for Promoting Specialized Care and Health, submitted $152,580 in expenses that were not in compliance with its contract terms, according to an audit conducted by the office of New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

An October 2012 retreat at the Montauk Yacht Club for board members and executive staff cost the nonprofit about $63,000. The state agency reimbursed PSCH for half those costs: OMH paid $10,723 for alcohol, $6,312 for dinner and $5,746 for rooms for an additional night's stay.

"The rules for conference costs are clear," Mr. DiNapoli said in a statement. "And lavish parties with alcohol, cruises and extra guests are not allowable. State agencies must make sure that contractors are reimbursed for legitimate expenses only."

About two-thirds of PSCH's $152,580 were costs that were "not actual, reasonable and necessary in the provision of contract services," the audit said. They included duplicate charges, and expenses that were incurred during a different period than the one in which PSCH was applying for reimbursement.

The auditors also found PSCH was reimbursed $22,901 for a staff picnic at Cunningham Park in Queens, where expenses included $14,955 for the picnic and $3,420 in gifts to staff, such as coolers, T-shirts, pens and umbrellas. Another $1,300 was spent on ice cream.

Comrie wants more tasteful alcohol ads

From CBS New York:

Is another battle at hand in the war over inappropriate advertisements? A Queens lawmaker is now taking aim at sexy inappropriate outdoor ads.

Sen. Leroy Comrie said he is acting on community complaints about alcohol ads – especially in family neighborhoods – on state property.

“We understand the right to free speech, we understand the right to advertise your product, but if you need to advertise your product in a friendly community, in a public space, then advertise it without the salaciousness,” he said.

The MTA does not comment on pending legislation and said its advertising standards ban the illegal, obscene and indecent.

Council looking to decriminalize quality-of-life crimes

From the Daily News:

City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s office is working on a proposal that would make some of the most common criminal court summonses civil charges instead. Violators would get a ticket to one of the city’s administrative courts, such as the Environmental Control Board, instead of criminal court. Cops could no longer make arrests for those offenses, and missed court dates would turn into default monetary judgments instead of warrants.

Bratton appears cool to the idea, saying people wouldn’t take a civil ticket seriously.

A Daily News analysis shows the seven offenses that would be sent to one of the city’s administrative civil courts under the Mark-Viverito plan account for roughly 2.7 million, or 42%, of the summonses issued by the NYPD between 2001 and June 2014. They also account for more than 510,000 open arrest warrants, according to the analysis of data provided by the state Office of Court Administration.

The seven offenses under consideration are public consumption of alcohol, public urination, bicycling on the sidewalk, being in a park after dark, failure to obey a park sign, littering and unreasonable noise. The offenses under consideration for decriminalization are under the city’s administrative code — not the state penal code — making it possible to amend them without state approval, officials said.

Public urination and open container are the only two minor offenses for which fines can be paid by mail. But Lancman said many people have reservations about allowing people to simply pay online for criminal court summonses because they’d essentially be pleading guilty to a violation or, in some cases, a misdemeanor without having an attorney present.

“When it’s a civil offense we don’t have any problem letting people pay online or by mail without having to show up at all ... that would almost certainly mean you’d have a higher percentage of people paying a fine,” Lancman said.

He said that in criminal summons court, roughly half the people don’t show up, and of the people who do show up and are assessed a fine, a quarter of them don’t pay.

Drinking & biking: a bad idea

From Forbes:

The number of bicyclists killed in crashes on U.S. road is on the rise, particularly among adult males and urban riders, groups that now represent most of the deaths, a new report shows.

Failure to wear helmets, alcohol impairment and an increase in urban commuting were among the factors sited as reasons for the recent spike in deaths.

Fatalities among bicyclists in motor vehicle crashes increased 16 percent from 2010 to 2012, while overall motor vehicle fatalities increased just one percent during the same time period, according to Spotlight on Highway Safety: Bicyclist Safety, released late last month by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), a nonprofit organization representing state highway safety offices.

The report analyzed how fatality trends and crash patterns have changed since the mid 1970′s.

Some highlights from the report about bicyclists killed in 2012:

-More than 1 in 4 adult were legally drunk

-More than two-thirds were not wearing helmets

- Nearly three-quarters were adult males

Not-for-profit did nothing for dough

From DNA Info:

The city is trying to get nearly $300,000 back from a Jamaica substance abuse center, which officials say may have misused the funds, according to court documents.

According to the complaint, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Aug. 8, New Spirit II signed a contract with the Department of Health in July 2008 and “received funding to deliver medically supervised outpatient services for the treatment of alcohol and chemical dependency between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009.”

After an audit was conducted in November 2011, the city demanded the nonprofit, on South Road and Guy R. Brewer Boulevard, return the $285,866, which the group failed to do, according to the document.

"This lawsuit is a routine action brought against an agency that failed to live up to its contract with the city," lawyer Alan Kleinman of the city's Law Department said in an email.

Kleinman declined to say where New Spirit II spent the money.

Rockaway beachgoers whine about fines

From the NY Post:

The NYPD is taking aim at Rockaways beachgoers — cracking down on minor infractions such as drinking beer, walking dogs and climbing on rock jetties, The Post has learned.

During the Memorial Day weekend, cops issued 152 “quality-of-life violation” summonses — three times more than the same period last year.

“It sucks! They’re targeting families who are just trying to enjoy themselves at the beach — people who might drink one or two beers in a red cup,” said the manager of a popular Rockaways restaurant, who asked that her name and establishment not be revealed.

“We’ve had cops drive past us on the beach and ask to see what’s in our coolers.”

She added that cops recently ticketed her husband for walking his dog on the beach, against the rules.

“There are a lot of areas around here, where there is real crime. They should put more time into that!”

And maybe you shouldn't drink in public or walk your dog where it's not allowed. Other summonsable offenses mentioned in the report: public urination and littering. Oh, those are terrible things to give summonses for!

SLA denies liquor license for Knockdown Center

From the Queens Chronicle:

The sparring match between the Knockdown Center and the community over the arts and entertainment venue's liquor license application is over, for now, with the opposed residents and elected officials winning by way of knockout.

The State Liquor Authority denied the liquor license application of the Knockdown Center, the controversial former factory at 52-19 Flushing Ave. in Maspeth, on Tuesday afternoon, with the overwhelming community opposition to the venue cited as the main reason for denial.

"We have gotten strong community opposition from all corners," SLA chairman Dennis Rosen said. "As far as we know, they did not change their position."

Rosen also expressed uneasiness about the lack of late-night public transportation in the area around the Knockdown Center and the nearly one-mile walk to the closest L subway line stop as secondary reasons for the denial.

In addition, a May 8th M.I.A. concert has been cancelled. I suppose not enough people want to see a show on a Thursday night in Maspeth that they can see on Saturday night in Manhattan. Duh.

Hipster shuttle bus now parked in Greenpoint

The magical blue bus that the notorious Knockdown Center/notorious Roberta's used to shuttle hipsters back and forth to the L train this summer was spotted recently on the street behind a high school in Greenpoint.



I believe the skull is a new addition.



Note the bottle of Smirnoff and the gas can in the center of the mess.



Yet more gas cans.



Amazing use of ratcheting tie-downs.

It all kind of fits in with Roberta's vibe, and Roberta's has been the exclusive caterer at the Knockdown Center thus far. Last year, Roberta's offered a menu that consisted of recipes containing marijuana and somehow kept their liquor license, even after bragging about it publicly. Perhaps they'll bring this avant-garde cuisine to Maspeth. After all, the manager of KDC once said:

“I think the Knockdown Center represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring something really unique and really special to Maspeth certainly, but also the New York community at large.”

I'll say.

This was on the Knockdown Center's website until last week (Click for larger version):


Now it's gone. I wonder why. Perhaps it's because they really don't give a flying crap about Maspeth, or Queens, and it makes their clientele cringe when they pretend they do.

This whole operation stinks to high heaven, and I have just revealed the tip of the iceberg. Stay tuned. There's more to be uncovered...

Rockaway beach cocktails nixed

From the Daily News:

Rockaway’s remaining food concessionaires returned to their beachfront stands for the Fourth of July, but their excitement about reopening was tempered by a newly instituted ban on hard liquor sales.
Beer and wine are still on the menu, but margaritas and mojitos are off limits.

The operators, who have been luring foodies to the beach since the city revamped the concessions in 2011, learned about the change in recent weeks, and they were unhappy about it.

They are already struggling to recover from losses inflicted by Superstorm Sandy, and they say this does nothing to help.

“We’d love to have it back,” said Lindsay Robinson, the co-owner of Low Bar near Beach 97th St., who served up margaritas and dark and stormies from the boardwalk site last summer. “We didn’t have any problems with it last year.”

The change came at the request of city lifeguards, who asked the Parks Department to nix the sale of cocktails for safety reasons, sources told the Daily News.

Lifeguards are on duty until 6 p.m. at city beaches. The time they call it a day was the same time the beachgoers were allowed to start buying cocktails.

The result of not enough cops?

"On Wednesday 07/25/12 I took my grandson to the Fort Totten playground and before getting there in the Parks Department parking lot next to the playground and near the sidewalk there were beer cans in one of the spots as you can see. I can't say if the Park cleaning staff or rangers did this or some other unrelated people, but close watch should be present since it can get very lonely in that area which makes it suitable for people looking for peace and quiet for a nice stroll or reading under a tree but also for other to practice certain things that they can enjoy in the privacy of their home without disrupting others or the environment. Is ironic that these things happen where the police has a huge amount of personnel stationed.

On another note, the handball area and a small seating place in the park next to the tennis court, basketball court and children playground and in front of the Edward Bleecker's middle school which is next to the elementary school bearing the same name on 149th Street between 26th Avenue and 25th Dr. in North Flushing has become a place for drinking alcoholic beverages and doing drugs at all times of the day specially on summer days. Most of the drugs are consumed behind the handball court wall and the alcohol and some drug in the seating spot in between the handball court and the tennis court.

I don't think this is alien to the police and still nothing is done. The park is a recreation area to exercise and get fit physically and mentally and not a place to consume drugs and alcohol especially in front of two public schools." - anonymous

Has problem bodega reformed?

From the Queens Courier:

A city investigation pinned a previously problematic deli grocery store in Briarwood with only one violation after multiple residents complained the store was selling “loosie” cigarettes and packs of smokes to minors.

Community Board 8 filed a complaint against the 84th Deli Grocery to the city’s Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) this April, according to District Manager Marie Adam-Ovide. The store, located at 84th Drive and Manton Street, was formerly Stop & Go before new owners took over in late 2008.

According to a spokesperson for the DCA, the city agency issued one violation for selling loosie cigarettes to an adult during inspections this May, but the store was not found to be selling tobacco to minors.

However, numerous violations for selling alcohol to minors — accumulated since 2006 under previous owners — did cause the New York State Liquor Authority to revoke the deli’s liquor license in November 2009, records showed.

The store — which no longer sells alcohol — has stayed out of trouble for the most part since then, said manager Mohammed Ahmed.

Ahmed, who worked for a couple of months under the former owners, said he makes sure his employees always ask for proper identification to avoid repeating problems of the past.

Ban on using benefits for bad things

From the NY Post:

Legislation is being introduced in the state Senate that would bar welfare recipients from using their public-assistance money to buy booze or cigarettes or spend money on lottery tickets or in casinos, The Post has learned.

The proposed law also would impose a ban on welfare spending on adult-oriented entertainment, such as strip clubs.

“Public assistance is designed to help needy families provide for their children until they can transition back to the workforce and become self-sufficient,” said state Sen. Thomas Libous (R-Binghamton), the deputy majority leader and bill sponsor.

“This common-sense legislation would protect hardworking taxpayers from abuse while ensuring that individuals receiving welfare benefits continue to get the temporary assistance they need and deserve,” he said.

Recipients who violate the ban would lose benefits for one month for a first-time offense and three months for a second. A third strike would permanently boot the offender from the program.

Welfare recipients receive both food stamps and cash assistance for other needs — to help defray the cost of housing, utility expenses and clothing — under the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program.

A family of four could receive a maximum $668 in monthly food-stamp benefits plus $433 in cash- assistance benefits.

People who qualify for welfare receive an “electronic benefit transfer” debit card to access their cash assistance.

Currently, recipients can use the card to buy cigarettes and booze or spend an afternoon at the racetrack or strip club.

The Libous measure would specifically bar recipients from using their EBT cards to make withdrawals from ATMs in liquor stores, betting parlors and sex clubs.