The Stone Lounge in Cortland has lost its liquor license after a mass incident of underage drinking.
On October 19th in a joint-action with the Cortland Police Department and New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, State Liquor Authority investigators made a disclosed visit to the Stone Loung at 128 Main Street in Cortland.
There were 90 patrons inside, according to investigators. Just 13 of them were over 21. The remaining 77 patrons were cited for possession of a fake ID or for using someone else’s ID.
Investigators obtained affidavits from 13 of the minors admitting to consuming alcohol – seven of which were just 18 years old.
On October 24th the SLA charged The Stone Lounge with multiple violations of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, including selling alcoholic beverages to a person or persons under 21, failure to have trained, licensed security guards at the door in violation of their approved method of operation, failure to maintain adequate and accurate records of business transacted on the licensed premises, and failure to supervise.
The Stone Lounge’s liquor license was also suspended.
“The SLA remains committed to working with our partners in law enforcement to keep alcohol out of the hands of underage youth,” said SLA Chairman Vincent Bradley. “SLA license holders have an obligation to obey the law. This business has failed to uphold their obligation as a licensee, and the Board is taking action to ensure public safety by cracking down on these illegal sales.”
The State Administrative Procedure Act authorizes a State agency to summarily suspend a license when the agency finds that public health, safety, or welfare requires emergency action. When the SLA summarily suspends a license, it also serves a Notice of Pleading alleging one or more disciplinary violations. In invoking a summary suspension, the SLA has deemed the violation to be sufficiently serious upon initial review to warrant an immediate suspension. The SLA’s decision to summarily suspend a license is not a final determination on the merits of the case. The licensee is entitled to a prompt hearing before an Administrative Law Judge.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected].