New Haven: Club closed after 1,000 people found there

NEW HAVEN — The city has shut down 50s Lounge LLC off Blake Street after they found more than 1,000 people Saturday night at the establishment in alleged violation of various city rules as well as state rules regulating outdoor dining and outdoor events.

Building Official Jim Turcio said in a release that he first arrived with Director of Public Health Maritza Bond and members of the New Haven Police Department after receiving numerous complaints about activity at the Westville lounge.

“We spoke to the owners of this establishment and made a request that they shut down immediately, with which they did not comply, and we had no choice but to shut them down as a result of these violations,” Turcio said.

He said the club was also in violation city ordinances and conditions of approval set by the Board of Zoning Appeals.

Club co-owner Joy Monsanto declined to comment Monday when reached by phone.

“Right now I’m under a lot of stress,” she said.

New Haven Alder Brian Wingate, D-29, whose ward borders the club, said he had not received any complaints from constituents about the club being over capacity.

“To be honest with you, I haven’t heard any complaints,” he said.

Wingate, who has recov

ered from COVID-19, said constituents in his ward are more worried about the sounds of late-night fireworks, he said.

The lounge had previously sued Gov. Ned Lamont, challenging his orders closing businesses during the pandemic. The business lost the suit.

Bond ordered owners of the establishment to shut down their operations, citing numerous violations, and the owners did not comply.

“I want to remind residents of the city that we are still in a pandemic,” Bond said.

“Taking the necessary health precautions is critical to containing the spread of COVID-19, which continues to pose a serious threat to public health in our community. Nonetheless, this incident revealed this establishment was in clear violation of various health codes, and conditions of zoning approval, not just those related to the restrictions put in place due to the pandemic,” Bond said.

Across Connecticut municipal officials are keeping a close eye on compliance with the state’s phased in re-opening rules.

“We get complaints from time to time and then we dispatch an officer to ensure distancing and regulations of executive orders,” ssaid Shelton Police Chief Shawn Sequeira.

Sequeira said while they receive calls on compliance, no large issues stand out.

A Bridgeport business agreed to close in April after it was found to be open in violation of Lamont’s executive order on essential businesses during pandemic, officials said at the time.

In Stamford, Assistant Police Chief Tom Wuennemann said that he did not know of any businesses in that city being shut down due to a lack of compliance with social distancing. “They have all behaved pretty well,” he said of business owners in the city.

Where police have been fielding complaints is at local beaches where he said they have been getting “quite a few” complaints about people being too close.

Arthur Augustyn, spokesperson for Stamford Mayor David Martin, said that in addition to there being no incidents of overcrowding reported to Stamford police, there have been none to the city Department of Health.

“Some businesses did not properly following social distancing guidelines at first, but our Department of Health or Economic Development have reached out and corrected those instances,” he said.

Next door in Greenwich, First Selectman Fred Camillo says no problems have been reported in town.

“We have received no serious complaints about a lack of compliance,” Camillo said on Monday. “I’ve been going out (around town) every day and night and see overwhelming compliance with the guidelines.”

Also in Fairfield County, Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling said the city’s health department is conducting regular inspections of local businesses.

The city works with businesses found in violation of current crowd limits. However, a business will be shut down if it receives two violations, Rilling said.

In Brookfield, about whether the town is monitoring crowd sizes at bars and other gatherings, First Selectman Stephen Dunn said, “Not actively.”

“But if we get a report from someone that a place is crowded or there are too many people somewhere, then we’ll have our municipal designees look at it and talk to the owner,” Dunn said. “We haven’t had any problems with that so far at all, but it will probably change.”

Dunn said municipal designees include the town’s fire marshal, Jason DeSousa, and zoning enforcement officer, Fran Lollie.

In Middletown, to date, there have been no complaints filed with the city health department about businesses failing to follow guidelines set forth by the governor, according to Middletown Public Health Manager Kevin Elak. “Knock on wood,” he said. However, after Lamont closed nail salons, barber shops and other such businesses March 19, Elak’s office received complaints that a local nail salon was still serving customers.

The state Department of Labor and Middletown police handled the matter, he said, because his office did not have the authority to close the business.

Bond said she has issued a cease and desist letter to the owners of the 50’s Lounge LLC, also known as 50 Fitch. The alleged violations include the following:

(1) Failing to ensure that all attendees at a large outdoor public gathering at your establishment remained at least six feet apart, failing to ensure that said attendees were wearing masks except when dining, failing to demarcate six feet of spacing in the area of gathering;

(2) Permitting the sale of alcohol without the sale of food;

(3) Outdoor dining in excess of seating capacity;

(4) Permitting a public health nuisance on your property;

(5) Operating in excess of 50% capacity on an outside deck;

(6) Operating in violation of Connecticut General Statutes 19-13-B42 and Title III, Chapter 14 of the New Haven Code of General Ordinances;

(7) Creating a condition specifically declared to be a public nuisance.

The State Department of Liquor Control will also be notified of the alleged violations.