After having its liquor license revoked in late April, the Dublin Pub in New Hyde Park has gone out of business and will put on the auction block later this month.
The state Liquor Authority board revoked the bar’s license on April 23 after suspending the license in late March for allegedly selling alcohol to underage customers on two recent occasions, according to state Liquor Authority spokesman William Crowley.
“They voted for revocation of the license,” Crowley said.
The state Liquor Authority had found the bar in violation of state liquor regulations on several occasions over the past decade.
In the suspension order issued in March, S & S Pub was also cited for failing to comply with conditions set in the March 22 hearing that post-dated the alleged violations prompting the current license suspension.
The auction of the property, which is being handled by Manhattan-based Paramount Realty USA, will take place on June 26 at 6 p.m., according to Paramount owner Misha Haghani.
Auction information prepared by Paramount sets the opening bid for the bar property, which located at 2002 Jericho Turnpike, at $899,000 and indicates an appraised value of $1.4 million as of October 2011.
The auction is to be held at the East Meadow law office of Richard Gertler, who Haghani said represents Dublin Pub Stan Majewski and Scott Blitzer.
Efforts to reach Majewski and Blitzer were unavailing.
Haghani said the state Liquor Authority had offered the owners two options – to either fight the revocation fight or surrender the license and make an argument that they did no wrong.
“They voluntarily surrendered their liquor license and they have not attempted to get their license back because they don’t want to spend more money on it. So they’re stepping away,” Haghani said.
Haghani said Majewski and Blitzer had worked at the bar for several years before buying it from one of the four original owners in 2001. The partners had invested more than $1 million in the 6,441-square-foot facility, which had been a bar or a pub since 1936 and was operating as the Dublin Pub since 1968, Haghani said.
At a March 27 meeting, liquor authority Chairman Dennis Rosen and Commissioner Jeanique Greene ordered an emergency suspension of the license for S & S Pub Inc., the pub’s corporate name, based on alleged sales of liquor to minors on Feb. 22 and March 1
At a hearing on March 22, Majewski, who holds the pub license, paid a $15,000 fine for seven violations of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control law in January 2011 that included selling alcohol to minors and intoxicated patrons, Crowley said.
In a letter to the state Liquor Authority prior to the March 22 hearing, lawyer Warren Pesetsky, who represented S & S Pub, entered a “no contest” plea and promised pub employees would check the age of its patrons, buy ID scanners and implement a training program for employees at the pub located at 2002 Jericho Turnpike.
On Feb. 22, the state Liquor Authority said Nassau County Police Officers responded to a 911 call that a 19-year-old woman was highly intoxicated and passed out on the floor of the bathroom at the Dublin Pub. The woman, who was transported to a hospital and treated for intoxication, later provided the liquor authority a written statement that she and six friends were consuming alcohol at the bar and had done so on at least 10 occasions in the recent past.
She also said that her friend was told by the bar’s bouncer to falsely state that she was intoxicated when she entered the bar, according to liquor authority documents
On March 1, the liquor authority reported that Nassau County Police officers observed a visibly intoxicated 18-year-man leaving the pub. Four bartenders were subsequently arrested after the minor said each of them sold him alcohol without asking for identification, according to the liquor authority, which said a Breathalyzer test resulted in a reading of .183. The young man was then transported to a local hospital.
Liquor authority documents showed the bar had been cited for several violations over the past decade dating back to 2003. In June 2012, liquor authority records show, the bar received a $6,000 fine for selling alcohol to minors on May 16, 2010 and permitting an altercation or an assault to take place on the premises.
Haghani said the owners had good years and bad years in operating the bar, with its business suffering during the current economic downturn. He said the location also had potential as an eatery with the upcoming opening of the 24-hour UFC Gym nearby. He said it could also be operated as a bar again.
“I would suspect a new owner would not have difficulty procuring a [liquor] license,” Haghani said.
Prior to the auction, prospective bidders may schedule an inspection of the property by contacting Paramount Realty at 212-867-3333. Haghani said bidders obtain a due diligence package which includes a title report, appraisal, property information and a copy of the purchase agreement. He said they are also required to bring a certified check for $75,000 to the auction.
