Kids booze it up all over

From NBC 4:

Underage drinkers can easily buy booze in New York City, according to the findings of an undercover investigation into liquor sales at grocery stores, pharmacies and other retail outlets.

Underage decoys were able to buy alcoholic beverages in more than half of the 911 stores sampled during the six-month probe last year, officials with the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said Sunday.

The outlets that sold alcohol to the decoys represent about 10 percent of all the stores with liquor licenses in the five boroughs.

Retailers charged with underage sales of alcohol face civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation, with fines starting at $2,500 for a first offense, according to the authority. Repeat offenders could lose their licenses.

The city health department intends to send letters to all stores in the city licensed to sell beer, wine or liquor requesting that they help reduce underage drinking by checking customer IDs.

Increase in vandalism at Juniper Park

From The Forum:

For years, neighbors have witnessed teens gathering at Juniper Valley Park on warm summer nights to indulge in underage drinking. Although some have dismissed the drinking as typical teen behavior and turned a blind eye, Bob Holden, President of the Juniper Park Civic Association, is taking a stand saying it is not only illegal, but it leads to more serious problems like vandalism.

On multiple occasions, Holden said he has driven by the park late at night and noticed groups of teenagers drinking beer. The children are not only violating the 9:00 p.m. curfew, they are also leaving behind a mess for the Parks Department to clean.

“I see the evidence the following day. There are beer bottles and broken bottles all over the ball fields and by the hockey ring,” he said. “The Parks Department and volunteers are the ones who clean up and they’re constantly picking the garbage up,” he added.

Holden attributes most of the vandalism at Juniper Park to teens hanging out in the park and drinking. “When you have underage kids drinking in the park unsupervised, it can lead to crazy things. A lot of what we get is vandalism,” he said.

Although Middle Village residents have reported kids drinking at Juniper for years, Holden expressed concern that this summer they are drinking in much larger crowds. “I mean we used to have drinking and it would be a group of four or five but now, about three weeks ago, I saw about twenty kids,” he said.

ID not legal? No problem!

From the Daily News:

The bartender studied the phony Pennsylvania ID card for about 10 seconds before bursting into laughter.

"This is the worst fake I've ever seen," he said - and then served the bogus card's owner a cold beer.

The shady transaction was no one-shot deal. A Daily News spot check of Manhattan nightspots showed the only thing easier than buying a fake ID is using it to buy a drink.

A pair of News reporters - legally old enough to drink - hit 18 bars this weekend and were admitted or served in 13. Both were able to score sham "emergency IDs" at a Chinatown shop for $108 - with barely a 10-minute wait.

The intensity of the ID checks varied wildly from bar to bar.

Some places had bouncers working the doors, others none. Some inspected the cards intensely, others with a quick glance. Some went high-tech, others decidedly low-rent.

There was better luck at bars in Hells Kitchen and in the neighborhood around W. 14th St. The chuckling bartender at Bill's Bar and Burger on Ninth Ave. had no problem serving one reporter after mocking his fake ID. Fake ID at the Mercury Bar at 46th St. and Ninth Ave.? No problem.

At the Tanuki Tavern on W. 13th St., the bartender was initially suspicious of the bogus ID - but wound up offering the reporter a shot on the house.

Getting the laminated cards was relatively easy at the Chinatown operation, where the shop workers were eager to help.

When one reporter provided her birth date as 1990, a sharp-eyed employee quickly changed it to 1989 - making her "legal."

I just had a flashback from my youth consisting of two words: "Busy Bee"

Teen found dead at Ridgewood Reservoir

From 1010WINS:

Police in Brooklyn are investigating the death of a 16-year-old girl whose body was found Sunday inside the Ridgewood Reservoir in Highland Park.

The girl was unconscious and unresponsive when officers arrived at the scene around 5:30 p.m., police say. The teen was taken to Wyckoff Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Police believe the girl was drinking with friends before she died. It is not known if the alcohol played a role in the teen's death.

Police say there is no evidence of foul play.

Hookahloopa throws CB6 for a loop

From the Daily News:

GiGi Malek, co-owner of the trendy Hookahloopa Lounge in Forest Hills, insisted the Metropolitan Ave. hot spot - open till 2 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays - is safe and clean, and respects its proximity to homes.

But concerned locals - caught off guard by the innuendo-filled menu - want Community Board 6 to investigate and possibly craft a resolution urging the state Liquor Authority to deny a license.

"It's practically saying to kids, 'This is fine; this is a big joke,'" said community board member Barbara Stuchinski, also president of the Forest Hills Community and Civic Association.

J.R. Nocerino, girls softball director for the Forest Hills Little League, interpreted the provocative labels - which also include "All Night Long," "Sex in the Woods" and "XXX" - as ways to lure underage teens.

"We're trying to lean toward a society of not having our kids smoke anything," he said. "It's like a magnet. It's like a hangout - a smoking hangout, no less."

It's Gigi again? Oy vey!

NYPD padlocks Ridgewood bar of ill repute

From BushwickBK on April 8, 2009:

One of us looks over at the bar (no alcohol yet, but that changes this week) and sees a monster of a hookah sitting atop the counter. It must be about five feet tall! We get the attention of our server, Sam, and ask him what the giant pipe is about. He explains that the size allows for a smoother smoke (yes, this prompts one person in our imaginary group to make the unavoidable remark that in hookah, size does matter…). Sensing our curiosity, Sam asks if we’d like to try it. Would we?! He carefully hoists the beautiful monster over the bar, and sets it on the floor in front of us. We ask if he’d like to join us for a hit or two, and we pass the nozzle around, intermittently scooping up hummus as we talk about…(I’ll leave you there).

But where is the belly dancing? For that, we must come back this Saturday night (April 11), when the Belly Dancing Cafe gets its liquor license and the dancing commences. Fair warning though: if you’re interested in smoking out of the hookah behemoth, make sure you get there early, because you’ll have to beat me to it.

And now as the late, great Paul Harvey would say, is the rest of the story from the Times Newsweekly on April 23, 2009:

Following a lengthy history of violations, police officially shuttered a troublesome nightclub in Ridgewood last Tuesday, Apr. 14, it was announced.

It was noted that the owner of the business failed to obtain the proper liquor license allowing for its operation.

The most egregious violation reportedly occurred on Nov. 5, 2008, when officers from the 104th Precinct discovered that as many as 46 teenagers had been illegally served alcoholic beverages at the café.

A law enforcement source said that the location had gained the reputation of being a haven for underage drinking.

As a result, the owner of the business and a worker were arrested on related charges. Soon after, police said, the NYPD filed a nuisance abatement case against the Belly Dancing Café seeking to have it closed due to repeat offenses.