Local officials told Crown Heights club owner to address violence prior to mass shooting
City and state officials warned the owner of a Crown Heights hookah lounge where a mass shooting took place in August to address violence and violations at the venue months before the deadly incident, according to NYPD officials and the State Liquor Authority.
The SLA warned the owner of Taste of the City Lounge about safety concerns in a November 2024 letter, and about six months later, executives from the NYPD and the city’s Office of Nightlife met with him to express similar concerns. The warnings came after a series of violent incidents at and near the club, including a November 2024 shooting in front of the venue, according to city and state officials.
The lounge has been shut since the Aug. 17 mass shooting, when police say four gunmen fired dozens of bullets inside the club. Three people were killed and 11 others were injured, according to the NYPD. Police are searching for two people who are still at large. Investigators say the shooting may have been related to gang activity in the neighborhood.
The club owner could not immediately be reached for comment.
According to an SLA official who spoke at a recent agency board meeting, a number of violent incidents led up to the mass shooting in August. In May 2024, a 911 caller reported that dozens of people were fighting and that a woman had been hit in the face with a lock, the official said.
“The caller can be heard saying, someone is saying ‘put down the gun!’ and people are running as shots are being fired,” the SLA official, Somalia Samuel, said at the special board meeting to revoke the club owner’s liquor license.
Then in November 2024, a gunman shot someone in front of the lounge, according to an NYPD spokesperson. A suspect in that shooting has been arrested and charged with attempted murder, the spokesperson said.
That same month, the SLA intervened and issued the club owner what's called a letter of advice, Samuel said at the board meeting. The letter was not publicly released, but Robert Romano, a New York City liquor attorney who is not involved in the case, said such letters typically serve to warn owners that they need to clean up violations.
“Basically that’s a shot across the bow,” Romano said.
In general, Romano said, he advises clients that such a letter does not mean their license will be revoked, but they should expect a visit from the SLA.
“Don’t take it lightly. You’re being given a very good pass here. And you’re not going to get another one, most likely,” he said.
Violent incidents at the club continued, Samuel said.
On April 19 of this year, a security guard reported that he was punched in the face after recovering a gun from someone trying to enter the club, she said.
The next day, a 911 caller reported a fight with up to 30 people outside of the club, telling the dispatcher that people had bottles in their hands and were fighting, Samuel said. She didn't specify whether authorities believe the two incidents were related.
After that, officials from the NYPD and the Office of Nightlife intervened and sat down with the owner to encourage him to increase security measures at both Taste of the City and the other restaurant he ran in Flatbush, Samuel said.
Romano, the liquor attorney, said his clients have had similar meetings, but in his experience his clients reached out to city officials and requested a meeting in an effort to protect their license.
“The licensee or the applicant has to reach out to those offices and show an effort and show good faith,” he said.
After the meeting, an official from the Office of Nightlife wrote an email to the owner with a number of suggestions to increase security at the club, including employing licensed security guards, scanning IDs at the door and patting down customers before they enter. An NYPD spokesperson said police followed up on the meeting with what she called three “operations” at the lounge, but did not explain what they entailed.
On the night of the mass shooting, security guards did not pat down all patrons before they entered and did not scan all IDs, Samuel said, adding that a metal detector at the venue was leaning up against a wall and not being used. One of the victims killed in the shooting was 19 years old, Samuel said.
“Based on the evidence that we have in the documents and what happened that night, the licensee kind of disregarded these safety precautions and wasn’t vigilant even in light of what NYPD executives and the mayor’s office were saying,” Samuel told the SLA board.
