Empire Billiards, a source of concern to neighboring residents in New Hyde Park over the last few years, has apparently closed its doors.
Tom Gannon, village Building Superintendent, said this week he was told by a manager at Empire that the bar at 1215 Jericho Turnpike was closing as of Sunday, June 30.
Gannon said he received word about the closing when visited the bar to conduct an inspection two weeks ago. He said he has no confirmation of the closing from the bar’s owners.
“They haven’t been opened since that Sunday, so I think they’re done” Gannon said on Wednesday.
The bar was not open for business on Monday or Tuesday night this week.
Attempts to reach Harbinder Singh, who oversees operations at Empire as partner in the business with his father, were unavailing.
Singh recently appeared in village court in New Hyde Park on June 26 and pleaded guilty to operating a billiard hall without a permit and violating the required height for window shades under the town code. He was fined $250 for the infractions and warned by acting Village Judge Robert Morici about repeating the infractions.
“My advice is you don’t find yourself before this court with these violations again,” Morici told Singh.
Police officers from the 3rd Precinct also recently cited the bar on June 15 for excessive noise. The bar was scheduled to appear before the state Liquor Authority on the charge.
Empire was reportedly seeking renewal of its liquor license, which was expiring at the end of June, sources said.
A former billiard parlor that was operating as a bar, Empire Billiards has been the source of repeated complaints from residents about excessive noise and illegal activities outside the bar including drug use and public lewdness. On May 9, two people were stabbed outside the bar.
The New Hyde Park Village Board declined to renew Empire’s gaming permit to enable its patrons to play pool last year in response to residents’ repeated complaints about the bar.
Village board members had met with Inspector Sean McCarthy, commanding officer of the Nassau County Police 3rd Precinct, on May 28 to discuss strategies to address problems with Empire.
At the time, New Hyde Park Mayor Robert Lofaro said the board was still hoping to reach a “happy medium” with Empire’s owners.
Attempts to reach Lofaro for comment were unavailing.
After his court appearance, Singh dismissed residents’ reactions about problems related to the bar.
“They’re overreacting to what it is,” Singh said outside court.
