Oct. 15, 2010 By Christian Murray
Political leaders met at Casa Romana this morning to celebrate the closing of the infamous establishment.
The bar was the site of a bloody brawl last month, when a “Teen Night” hosted by the restaurant went awry resulting in the stabbings of two minors and a total of 14 arrests, including the owners.
The location has had a history of violations, including disorderly premise and has been cited for serving alcohol to minors in the past. Less than a month ago, political leaders and the community gathered together in a rally to demand that the bar be shut down and today they celebrated Casa Romana’s official closure.
According to the NYPD, the department was able to close the establishment for a nuisance abatement based on previous arrests for disorderly premise and serving alcohol to minors. Currently, the doors of Casa Romana have signs posted which state that they have been closed by Court Order for Alcoholic Beverage Control Violations. The Queens County Supreme Court will decide the future for Casa Romana in an upcoming hearing, but for now local elected officials and residents are celebrating a major community victory.
“The closure of Casa Romana sends a powerful message to those establishments that are reckless and threaten the public’s safety,” said Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer. “Less than a month ago we stood here as a community, united to protect our neighborhood against a rogue business and today we celebrate its closure. Thank you to the 108th Precinct and to the NYPD for their due diligence to protect our community.”
“Our wonderful community has no tolerance for an unscrupulous profiteer who wants to exploit underage teens,” said Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan. “I am grateful to the 108th Precinct for their outstanding professionalism in closing this racket down.”
“Shutting this business down is a message to unscrupulous businesses who negatively affect the quality of life in our community,” said Community Board 2 Chairman, Joseph Conley. “We will be vigilant and we will not rest if you think you are above the law and you negatively impact our community.”
