The Weehawken Alcohol Beverage Control board has ordered the closing of a Park Avenue liquor store for 80 days – which means the duration of the summer – the longest such ruling since the township started clamping down on underage drinking three years ago.
At a special meeting of the township ABC Board, the members decided to suspend the liquor license of West New York resident Dwight DeOliveira, who owns and operates Weehawken Liquors and Deli at 4800 Park Ave., for 80 days.
The suspension and subsequent closing of the business began on June 17 and extends through Sept. 5, 2001, which means that DeOliveira’s business would be closed during its busiest months, namely the summer.
The harsh penalty stems from three prior violations that the store received for selling to minors, officials said. On August 20, 1999, DeOliveira was cited and issued a summons for selling alcohol to minors. He was also charged with the offense on Sept. 30, 1999 and a third time on Feb. 10, 2001.
According to Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner, the penalty was carried out to the fullest because of the township’s zero tolerance policy toward liquor license infractions.
“Each offense has guidelines that have to be followed,” said Turner, who serves on the ABC Board with the other members of the Township Council. “This particular establishment had been shut down before, first for one week, then for two. The longest we had to date was three weeks, but in this case, we wanted to make sure that people are aware of the tough policy we have, particularly when it comes to selling to minors.”
Originally, DeOliveira was set to receive 90 days, but because he was willing not to contest the penalty with an appeal to the state ABC in Trenton, the penalty was lessened by 10 days.
“Because the state ABC has a tendency to convert our findings to fines instead of closure, we wanted to make sure that the business was closed right away,” Turner said. “Plus, the appeal process takes so long with the state. We wanted to have a very fast track policy and close the establishment right away.”
Added Turner, “We wanted to send a message that we’re going for immediate closings, if there are violations to our policy. Our policy has always been tough when it comes to underage drinking. In the past, we’ve closed four or five liquor stores for periods of time, but this was the most severe. By doing so, we’re bringing more order to the neighborhood.”
Keep it away from kids
Turner said that the police have said that teenagers had been regularly served at the liquor store.
“We heard of more and more problems there,” Turner said. “We heard that it was well known within the kids. The police know it is. We wanted to close them down for the summer and we accomplished that goal.”
According to township manager James Marchetti, that’s all the more reason to ask for a stronger penalty.
“When you’re selling alcohol to kids, it’s nothing to take lightly,” Marchetti said. “Every time we issue a summons, we speak to the owners about the rules. They know how hard we’re going to be about serving to minors. I think this penalty sends a message to others. This was a blatant violation that had to be punished.”
DeOliveira was not available for comment by press time. Several calls to his West New York residence were not answered.