Eight separate State Liquor Authority charges against Pompeii Lounge dating back to 2010 were sustained, adding an official designation of an adverse history to the lounge’s reputation.
The agency acted on Wednesday, January 18. The violations include lack of proper financing for the lounge; two dancing without a cabaret license violations from May 30, 2010 and June 16, 2010; an alcoholic beverage resale violation from January 30, 2010; a Department of Health Violation from September 19, 2010; no food in an establishment licensed as a sports lounge violation from June 6, 2010; a fiolation for a fire extinguisher that was not working on June 6, 2010; and sale of non-packaged sangria from June 6, 2010, said a spokesman for Senator Jeff Klein.
About $14,000 in fines have been issued, the spokesman said.
Two SLA violations for disorderly premise dating back to January 3, 2010 and June 20, 2010 were not sustained. Charges from 2011 are still outstanding.
Senator Klein said he was pleased with the SLA ruling.
“I wholeheartedly agree with the State Liquor Authority’s decision to impose a stiff penalty on the Pompeii nightclub given its longstanding problems with the surrounding community,” Klein said. “Several charges are still outstanding and it would be my hope that the authority will review these matters swiftly.”
Charges from 2011 should be adjudicated by the SLA in March, a Klein spokesman said. These include a disorderly premise violation for a fight between a boyfriend and girlfriend on March 26, 2011; a violation issued on March 20, 2011 for being filled over capacity; a Fire Department violation from March 20, 2011; and a second disorderly premise from October 9, 2011, the spokesman said.
Pompeii neighbor Annie Boller, who lives around the corner from the lounge on Coddington Avenue, said Pompeii presented itself to authorities as a sports bar, but is a really a night club, and living close to the establishment has decreased her quality of life.
“There is screaming at night, yelling, drunkenness, and cars blasting stereos,” Boller said. “It is just interrupting my sleep. I work six days a week, so I would like to sleep through the night.”
Since Pompeii opened, crime in the area has increased, Boller said.
The bar has drawn community criticism since a shooting occurred on the street near Pompeii in April 2010, and it was determined that people involved were likely in the bar prior to the shooting, said Andrew Chirico, a board member of the Waterbury LaSalle Community Association.
“I am not a lawyer, but it seems to me that they have been opened a long time and have been violating regulations regularly,” Chirico stated. “
If Pompeii were to close, Chirico believes that the surrounding community would be safer and quieter, especially Coddington Avenue, he said.
“They are not advertising this place as a nice place to bring your date, they are advertising it as exactly what they are: a loud club,” Chirico said.
As of press time, Pompeii’s owner, Jose Torres, said that he had not yet spoken to his attorney recently, and was not aware of the adjudicated SLA charges against Pompeii Lounge on Wednesday, January 18.
Patrick Rocchio can be reach via e-mail at procchio@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 742-3393
