Opposition continues to grow against the Morris Park nightspot, now advertised as Insomnia Lounge,.
During a State Liquor Authority Full Board meeting held on August 26, Insomnia Lounge, once known as Déjà vu Café, but continues to operate under Café Dardania Inc. on the liquor license, was issued a $ 3,000 fine.
The civil penalty was issued in response to a violation for ‘prohibited hours sale’ on March 8, distributing alcoholic beverages beyond the legally allowed time.The penalty must be paid by October 1.
“There were a lot of promises made by the owner about turning it into family restaurant and he never did this,” said John Fratta, district manager of Community Board 11.“The penalty was a way of basically sending a message, we told him from beginning we are not going to tolerate what went on.As long as he breaks the law and causes disturbances in the community we will make sure he gets the appropriate violations.”
Senator Jeff Klein has been in contact with the SLA on the location and continues to assist residents and community leaders in preventing further occurrences and restoring the neighborhood’s quality of life.
“This is one step toward bringing peace and quiet back to Bronx residents,” said Klein.“I am going to continue to do whatever it takes to return this quiet community to its residents.”
The 49th Precinct has also stepped up enforcement in response to the complaints on the notorious establishment.
“We concentrate our patrols during the later hours in that sector,” said Captain John Greeley of the 49th Precinct.“W have had some activity there in the past and we check Déjà vu and stay on top of establishments that have given us problems in the past.”
The charges during the meeting also included disorderly premises for an altercation on July 6, 2008, failure to supervise and a viability violation on that same night, failure to comply with local regulation on November 14, 2008 and March 8, 2009.These charges were not sustained and therefore dismissed.
“The $3,000 fine is a step in the right direction,” said Al D’Angelo, president of the Morris Park Community Association.“Working together with the police we hope we can finally get this place shut down.”
