Organizers Charged After 215-Person Party Busted In Queens

OZONE PARK, QUEENS — Four people were charged with violating coronavirus-related restrictions Saturday after authorities shut down a party at a Queens banquet hall that had hundreds of guests.

Deputies from the New York City Sheriff's Office found at least 215 people partying at the Queens Luxe Banquet Hall on Rockaway Boulevard about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, in violation of emergency orders restricting indoor gatherings of more than 50 people.

Unmasked revelers were dancing, drinking and smoking hookah inside the Ozone Park event space, the New York Daily News reported.

10/17/20 @ 0137HRS: Deputy Sheriffs shut down illegal bar/party event inside 106-09 Rockaway Blvd, Queens: 215+ people, no liquor license, illegal liquor storage and sales, violation of emergency orders, 4 organizers charged with multiple criminal, health ABC offenses. pic.twitter.com/rlu3kR8Vrz
— NYC SHERIFF (@NYCSHERIFF) October 17, 2020

The banquet hall's owner, 47-year-old Woodhaven resident Johnny Albuja, and employee Miguel Hernandez were charged with misdemeanors for violating COVID-19 emergency orders, according to Gothamist. They also received summonses for serving and storing alcohol without a liquor license.

Two other employees, Juan Carlos Barona Uribe and Luis David Mera Acosta, got summonses for
violating emergency orders, according to the New York Post.