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.
11 comments:
This was on the Bushwick Bk blog about 3 weeks ago.
Note the Hookah pipe bong on the awning.
A fello bragged about the huge bong behing the bar & smoking "Ridgewood Blend" with the owner Sam.
Carolyn Daly tried to get a job there but was too damn ugly.
This saddens me because now my kid has to get drunk further away from home
They have stuff like this all over Astoria's slezy nightlife culture.
The local pols are so anxious not to upset the immigrants, they ignore the no smoking law and let these guys light up.
The machine controled mods over at astrorians.com love this crap - as they love bangla takeouts, shady balken clubs, and taco trucks (funny about those things - makes them so typical Astoria you want to weep)
The hookah places are so bad, long term residents are moving out of the buildings (they do complain at the community board but - hey, its infamous Community Board 1) and are being replaced by new immigrants from the Middle East who don't seem to mind.
So you have a sprending ghetto on Steinway Street (and they wonder about all those empty store fronts) - well I guess Islamic fashion stores, stores with menus in arabic script posted on the fascade, family clinics and the like can take up the slack - and make the street vibrant! diverse! and colorful! - and so third world (read Queens).
it's pathetic how these blogs and supposedly community-based message boards shill the whole slum adventure as if it's a cool thing to do. Someone who really cared about their community should be calling attention to the illegal nature of these places rather than promoting them.
Real estate blogs have to masquerade as community blogs otherwise no one would take them seriously. If you were selling real estate in the vicinity of establishments like this, what alternative would you have except to pretend like this is a cool thing to have within walking distance?
so now we are too young to drink but not too young to die from an IED on the streets of Fallujah? Yay! Love government!
You don't know how young the patrons were that they got in trouble over. They could have been 16.
I thought it was illegal to smoke indoors in nyc?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
I thought it was illegal to smoke indoors in nyc?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
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Yes, for you and me, but for the clubhouse favs rules can be broken.
They invented a 'cultural' exemption that applies to the Middle East, but not to North America (where the habit of smoking started)
befor you say anything you and everyone have to know about the true of NYPD pr(104) cataliba
Ridgewood NY 11385 .iam the owner off (beely dancing cafe )all what thay said about my loung its not true i dont have no beer and no one he can asmoke any thing eals besid the hookah and if i swa any one donit i take him out of my loung not only that but also i call u police put thay never show up when i call thim why? i dont know same time the NYPD said i have 46 underage drinking where thim you know what it was no 46 ppl there i never do any thing ajans the low i never smoke i dont drink too much i like USA but i was thing the cups thay follow the low no not all of thim some of thim thay have thay own low .every one off you one day it will happened to him or her and you will say i was right
thank u
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