State suspends license of Island Park bar for COVID-19 violations
Dox, an Island Park restaurant that has been shut down on an emergency basis by the State Liquor Authority for violations of COVID-19 orders and other issues. Credit: Googel
An Island Park restaurant is the first on Long Island to be issued an emergency suspension by the State Liquor Authority for multiple violations that include failing to comply with orders to stop the spread of the coronavirus, officials said.
Dox at 10 Broadway has received multiple verbal and written warnings beginning in mid-May for complaints including overcrowding, noise and social-distancing violations, officials with the State Liquor Authority, or SLA, said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
“This licensee received repeated warnings and chose to ignore them, causing an unnecessary and avoidable health risk to patrons, employees and the community,” Vincent Bradley, SLA chairman said in the statement. “Licensees who ignored these lifesaving protocols are not just jeopardizing their licenses, they’re jeopardizing people’s lives.”
An official with the SLA said in an email Dox is the first business on Long Island to have an emergency suspension issued against it. But there have been 18 others statewide.
Authorities also said investigators with the SLA and Nassau County Fire Marshal’s Office on June 27 conducted a compliance inspection at Dox and found 235 patrons were packed at an outdoor patio deck with a legal capacity of 42.
The emergency order of summary suspension was approved during a special meeting of the SLA Wednesday and was ordered by Bradley, Commissioner Lily Fran and Commissioner Greeley Ford, the statement said.
A man who responded to a Newsday phone call and said he was Dox’s owner late Wednesday said he was unaware of the emergency suspension and had no comment. When he was asked if the restaurant was busy, he said business was “slow.”
According to the SLA statement, emergency suspensions occur when “public health, safety, or welfare requires emergency action.”
Newsday reported in late June that more than two dozen Long Island businesses have been cited for social-distancing and mask violations since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
The SLA also said it was considering revoking the license of Dublin Deck in Patchogue. A video from May 22 showed people crowded inside the business. A bar owner said the crowd gathered inside to get away from the rain.
