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Hookah Poisoning and Violence Prompt Authorities to Shutter Sushi Joint

By Carolina Pichardo | August 31, 2017 5:38pm
 Mia Sushi and Steakhouse was ordered to shut down Wednesday following another violent incident. 
Mia Sushi and Steakhouse was ordered to shut down Wednesday following another violent incident. 
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DNAinfo/Carolina Pichardo

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — A local sushi bar was shuttered Wednesday night for a series of violent incidents, code violations and a hookah poisoning, State Liquor Authority said.

The bar, Mia Sushi and Steakhouse on 1506 St. Nicholas Ave., near West 185th Street, was ordered to stop selling alcohol “effective immediately,” after the NYPD informed the SLA of a fight that took place on Friday, Aug. 25, that led to someone getting stabbed three times in the abdomen, the agency said.

According to an SLA statement, no one from Mia called 911 to report the incident at the time, which is the latest “in a pattern of violence occurring in and around Mia Sushi."

The SLA said it also received “additional police referrals” on four incidents of overcrowding in the restaurant within the past year, where employees of the restaurant lied to police regarding the number of people inside the venue.

The FDNY closed and vacated the restaurant on April 2, the SLA said, after police reported 150 people inside. The maximum capacity is 72, the agency said.

Following that incident, the SLA said someone was taken to a local hospital on May 17 after smoking from what officials believe was a defective hookah, as the New York Daily News first reported. The man was foaming at the mouth and lost consciousness, according to the SLA. The man was given a specialized treatment at another hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning, the agency said.

Mia has a history that dates back to 2014 of underage drinking, fights, noise and even an incident where a man was shot and another was beaten after a fight broke out inside the space

Mia is the second area bar shuttered this month for a pattern of violence.

The other spot, Vapor Lounge at West 176th Street and Broadway, was closed on Aug. 16 after two people were robbed, beaten and stabbed the week prior following a large-scale brawl that broke out inside the bar and spilled out to the streets, the SLA said. A police officer was also assaulted when responding to the fight, according to the agency.