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The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Inwood Lounge with Checkered Past Reopens

Uptown Lounge Shut Down by State Authority After Two Days in Business
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INWOOD — A rebranded restaurant and lounge that earned neighbors' ire for alleged noise and underage drinking is back in business after it was temporarily closed by the state because the owner failed to secure worker’s compensation insurance.

NoVvo, located at 5009 Broadway near West 213th Street, opened last Wednesday but shuttered only days later when the state Worker’s Compensation Board hit it with a stop-work order.

The order, which neighbors reported seeing posted on NoVvo's door early Saturday morning, was accompanied by a more than $81,000 fine and addressed to Hashi Sushi Inc, the former restaurant to occupy the space. NoVvo is under the same ownership as Hashi. 

 Novvo was closed because it did not have worker's compensation insurance.
Uptown Lounge Shut Down by State Authority After Only A Few Days in Business
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A spokesman from the Worker's Compensation Board said Novvo was cleared to reopen Monday after notifying the board it had purchased insurance and agreed to pay the fines.

The board said Hashi and NoVvo's owner, Liliana Rodriguez, failed to carry insurance during two separate time periods.

The first offense, from June 2010 to April 2011, resulted in a $58,000 penalty that has not been paid. The employer did not respond to a settlement offer that was contingent upon her purchasing insurance, the board said. The second, $23,750 penalty, from October 2013 to July 2014, when Hashi resumed operating after a break. A board investigator found at the time that Hashi had still not purchased the insurance. 

Rodriguez has faced legal issues in the past at the venue for failing to pay $180,000 in taxes and for serving underage drinkers.

NoVvo was operating under a special extension of Hashi’s liquor license, which expired at the end of March, according to the State Liquor Authority. A hearing before the SLA set for Tuesday will determine whether or not Rodriguez will receive a license renewal for the space.

Residents described ongoing problems with the restaurant that remained when NoVvo reopened under the new name.

“They’re the worst neighbors ever,” Jennifer Fox told DNAinfo in May, when Rodriguez went before Community Board 12 seeking to renew Hashi’s liquor license.

Fox said the restaurant regularly sent rowdy crowds into the street after its 4 a.m. closing time and did not respond to neighbors’ complaints.

Community Board 12 passed a resolution in May recommending that the SLA not renew Hashi's license, citing ongoing concerns of underage drinking, after-hours operations and some serious assaults that had taken place there, in addition to neighbors' frequent complaints about noise.

Despite Rodriguez’s promises to CB 12 to change her business model by forgoing live music and ending valet parking, residents said that little had changed when NoVvo opened last week. They reported seeing flashing spotlights, elevated noise levels and the return of valet parking.

A video posted online and dated Sept. 4 shows a lively scene inside the space, with bright flashing lights and what appear to be hookahs on patrons' tables.

“They had one of those setups where you take pictures with lasers and spotlights and a ton of tables with the windows wide open,” said Tom Shamy, 48, who lives in the building next door to the space.

Shamy said he had been hopeful NoVvo would have a different vibe than Hashi.

“The owner had a coffee for the community awhile back. She said she wanted to open a different kind of place,” he said. “Then she went and did just the opposite.”

Rodriguez could not be reached for comment.