Hempstead Village targets bars, bodegas for liquor violations

Hempstead Village officials are seeking to revoke the business licenses of bars and bodegas for liquor law violations that include underage drinking and illegal alcohol sales.

Officials have stepped up enforcement on bars and bodegas in the 3.7-square-mile village after reports of public drunkenness and fighting outside bars near Hofstra University.

The village is seeking to revoke the business licenses of the now-shuttered bar Daddy Locos and two operating bodegas, A & A Deli and Franklin Deli Inc. during a village hearing scheduled for Tuesday, officials said.

Hempstead police officers said they did a check of some businesses last week, including at A & A Deli, where store owners taped a large sign that read “No Beer” over a cooler.

The New York State Liquor Authority has already suspended the liquor licenses of the three businesses, which are separate from the business licenses, but Hempstead Mayor Wayne Hall said that didn’t go far enough to stop what he characterized as a continuing problem of drinking and even illegal gambling inside some bodegas.

“We’re trying to send a message that you can’t come to Hempstead and get away with everything,” Hall said. “We’re not going to allow this to happen. If you break the law, we’re going to revoke your license.”

Bartenders at McHebes, Dizzy Lizard and another bar, Bangers, were charged in September with serving alcohol to an underage undercover officer, Hempstead and Nassau County police said. Bangers is the only bar that remains open.

Hempstead police have been conducting ongoing undercover operations at bars and bodegas looking for violations. Police have sent plainclothes officers to different locations and issued tickets for serving violations and where people were found sleeping on public sidewalks.

Residents near Hofstra have complained to village officials about fighting, drinking and generally bad behavior on the front lawns of homes, police said. Police said the amount of drunken people sleeping on streets has taxed emergency responders who have had to respond to those calls.

Hall is pushing for restaurants in the village to close by midnight during the week and by 1 a.m. on weekends. He’s trying to require all bars in the village to close by 2 a.m. By his count, he said, there are 160 places within the village legally selling alcohol in restaurants, bars and beer or liquor stores.

Public drunkenness and disorderly conduct have decreased since the village stepped up its enforcement, Hall said. Assistant Police Chief Joseph Sortino said the village has met with bar owners and housing officials at Hofstra to discuss issues of drinking and bad behavior. Village police also conduct patrols in problem areas on weekends and holidays.

In a statement, Hofstra spokeswoman Karla Schuster said, “Hofstra University remains committed to working with local officials and residents to make the neighborhood as safe as possible.”

“We’re trying to have a positive effect on the quality of life in Hempstead,” Sortino said. “We’re not waiting for residents to complain at board meetings. We’re trying to resolve it before it gets to that point.”

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.