Moomia at 157 Lafayette St.By Nicole Breskin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
SOHO — A controversial SoHo hotspot is having a last hoorah New Year's Eve, despite having lost its liquor license for 2010.
Angry residents have been fighting Moomia Lounge, located on Lafayette Street near Grand Street, for years over noise and rowdy behavior, prompting the State Liquor Authority to refuse renewal of the bar's liquor license after it expired Nov. 30.
But Moomia got a four-month reprieve from the SLA, so corks were supposed to pop Thursday night.
“Is nobody allowed to throw a New Years Eve party? Every restaurant is doing a New Years Eve party,” said owner Andrei Lazarev, a former bartender at Cipriani, who blasted locals for "lying" about the bar's misdeeds.
"I don’t know where these ideas are coming from."
His neighbors, however, see the New Year's Eve party as a parting shot.
“The problem is every night is New Years Eve at Moomia,” said a neighbor at 161 Grand, who didn’t want to be named for fear of repercussions.
“We don’t want it around for four more months. We want it to close now.”
Bob Gormley of Community Board 2 said he plans to call to police about the New Years event.
“I’m going to request that the precinct keep an eye out because they’ve been bad neighbors,” said Gormely. “If they act illegally, I’d love to see enforcement agents getting in there and shutting the party down.”
This past August, the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement issued six Department of Building violations and three NYPD summonses, including obstruction of an exit passageway, according to a spokesperson for the mayor’s office.
In 2006, Moomia received two other violations. Moomia's owners are due in court on May 28, 2010 for the newer violations.
In a letter denying a liquor license renewal, the State Liqour Authority wrote that Moomia's "fraudulent misprepresenation" of its operations showed that "the renewal applicant lacks the requisite character and fitness to continue as the holder of any liqour license."
Thursday’s party at Moomia will have alcohol and DJ-spun music until 4 a.m., a rep for Moomia told DNAinfo.
While it’s legal for the lounge to serve alcohol until March 25, 2010, it must operate as a restaurant, meaning that loud music and dancing – which requires a separate license – are punishable by fines of up to $10,000.
“We certainly expect Moomia to act like a restaurant [on New Years Eve and otherwise],” said State Liquor Authority spokesperson William Crowley.
“They said they were a restaurant in their license and they haven’t been acting like one. We hope they comply with the law so everyone can have a safe start to the New Year.”
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