Shooting Costs Queens Nightclub Its Liquor License

RICHMOND HILL, QUEENS -- The Queens nightclub Rose Lounge has temporarily lost its liquor license after two men were shot outside the bar in one of several incidents since its opening less than two months ago, according to state records.

The New York State Liquor Authority suspended Rouse Lounge's liquor license on April 20, the agency announced Monday.

The suspension comes just a week after two brothers were shot outside the Richmond Hill nightclub at 89-25 130th St. following a fight that broke out inside, authorities said.

The two brothers got into a scuffle with another patron at the lounge on April 15, which escalated when one of the brothers punched the patron and sent him crashing headfirst into the floor, police said.

The patron then pulled a firearm from his waistband and began waiving it in the air, prompting other patrons to frantically flee the nightclub. Once he and the two brothers were outside the nightclub, the man opened fire, cops said.

The man shot one brother in his right elbow and head, and the other in his finger, abdomen and left arm.

Two days later, cops and state authorities raided the lounge and issued criminal court summonses for electrical hazards, fire safety violations and employing untrained security guards, state records show.

"Two victims have already suffered serious injuries due to the incredibly reckless operation of this bar, and I commend the Authority for shutting this dangerous bar down before anyone else is seriously injured," said Christopher Riano, the SLA's counsel.

Authorities said the lounge has been an issue for police even before receiving its liquor license on March 6.

Cops were called to Rose Lounge nine times in the little more than five weeks since it opened, first for a drunk woman who passed out inside the bar on March 4.

In the weeks since then, police also responded to calls of patron scuffles at the bar, overcrowding by more than three times its maximum occupancy, and once over a fight that broke out between a patron and the bar's valet staff, according to the NYPD.

“In less than two months in operation, this licensee has already demonstrated he is unwilling or incapable of running a lawful establishment,” Riano said.

The SLA charged Rose Lounge with 16 violations before suspending its license, including operating a disorderly premises, inadequate supervision, sales to intoxicated patrons, unlicensed bouncers and becoming a focal point for police attention.

Patch could not immediately reach Rose Lounge's owner for comment.

(Lead photo via Google Maps)