Vineyard 48 Shut Down By State Liquor Authority; 'Good Riddance,' Supe Says

CUTCHOGUE, NY — Neighbors of Vineyard 48 have long said the winery has shattered their quality of life, complaining of couples having sex outside, loud music and a string of alleged alcohol overdoses. On Thursday, the establishment was shut down.

The New York State Liquor Authority ordered an emergency suspension of Joseph Paul Winery Inc., or Vineyard 48, located at 18910 County Road 48 in Cutchogue, the SLA said.

The suspension was ordered by members of the SLA, Chairman Vincent Bradley and Commissioner Greeley Ford at a special meeting of the full board. It is effective immediately; no alcohol may be sold or consumed on the premises, the SLA said.

But according to Southold Town Attorney Bill Duffy, Vineyard 48 attorney Peter Sullivan is reportedly expected to appear in Supreme Court in New York City Friday to request a stay.

Sullivan did not immediately return a request for comment.

"I sincerely hope that the judge recognizes the depravity of the situation and upholds the suspension. Enough is enough with these people," Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said.

According to the SLA, based on a referral from the Southold Police Department, officers responded Sept. 30 to 911 calls from residents surrounding the licensed premises.

Police first responded to a call from a neighbor complaining of two patrons engaging in sexual acts in view of their backyard bordering Vineyard 48. Officers discovered two highly intoxicated trespassers that were escorted off the property, the SLA said.

While investigating the premises, police observed an extremely intoxicated male patron who caused a disturbance in the rear of the establishment as well as an intoxicated woman who was unable to stand on her own, the SLA said.

Southold Police were called again later that day to respond to "an altercation involving an estimated 400 disorderly, heavily intoxicated patrons who were pushing, shoving and screaming at one another," the SLA said.

A fight ensued involving 15 to 20 patrons requiring the response of six SPD officers, who ordered the winery closed for the afternoon due to the overwhelming size of the crowd, the SLA said.

"According to the SPD, the long bathroom lines, some 30 people deep, led to patrons wandering off the premises to urinate and defecate on the properties of neighboring residents," the SLA said.

According to the SLA, "the disturbing incidents of September 30 are only the most recent in a long line of resident complaints and police encounters at Vineyard 48. According to the SPD, officers responded to 10 incidents at the premises from May 28, 2017 to September 30, 2017."

Two incidents involved alcohol overdoses where patrons were rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment, four involved intoxicated patrons causing disturbances in the community and three involved buses and limos making dangerous illegal U-turns near the vineyard, the SLA said.

Southld Town Police Chief Martin Flatley said the decision comes after "repeated calls there, especially over the past month. We have been there twice for alcohol overdoses and several other occasions with overly-intoxicated patrons. This culminated this past weekend when we were called there four times for disturbances on Saturday with the last call being a fight between numerous intoxicated patrons which took six police officers to break up and sort out. Security did not have control of the 400-plus in attendance and the patrol supervisor shut the establishment down by 5. pm. We have been working with SLA officials to address these conditions with referrals and eventually a suspension of the liquor license."

The SLA added that there are currently three pending cases against Vineyard 48.

On June 5, 2016, Southold Police responded to an alcohol overdose on the premises. A patron was found vomiting and immediately transported to the hospital for medical treatment, the SLA said.

On October 15, 2016, Southold Police responded to another alcohol overdose that required immediate treatment at a local hospital. While responding to that call, police observed and broke up two separate physical altercations. One involved an assault by a highly intoxicated underage woman on another female. An unrelated fight that erupted between patrons shorty thereafter required police and management to intervene, the SLA said.

In addition to the altercations, police observed numerous highly intoxicated patrons drinking Sangria out of gallon buckets. There were an estimated 500 patrons on the licensed grounds, the police said.

Southold Police reports detail an additional 11 incidents between May 14, 2016 and October 30, 2016, including three incidents for alcohol overdoses, four responses to fights between patrons and two for intoxicated patrons harassing neighboring residents, the SLA said in a release

“Vineyard 48 has amassed a disturbing record of repeatedly serving patrons far beyond the point of extreme intoxication, straining police resources and wreaking havoc on their neighbors and the surrounding community,” said Counsel to the Authority Christopher R. Riano. “The time has come for this licensee to follow the laws of New York State, and I commend the SLA for taking emergency action, as Vineyard 48 has demonstrated again and again they have zero respect for the law, and no care for their neighbors, the police or for the safety of their patrons.”

Following extensive litigation about prior patterns of serious illegal conduct by the licensee starting in 2013, the SLA Board imposed a $10,000 fine and a 21-day suspension in 2016, the SLA added.

According to the SLA, 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 said.

Vineyard 48 entitled to hearing, SLA says

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 an expedited administrative law hearing before an administrative law judge, the SLA said.

However, the SLA added, an order of summary suspension remains in effect until it's modified by the SLA or a reviewing court.

It was not immediately clear if Vineyard 48 was planning to appeal.

"The place was a menace"

Russell spoke out about the SLA's decision Thursday.

"The place was a menace. Disrespectful, inconsiderate, a blight on the community," he said. "It is a shame that it takes this long for other agencies to act. I hope and pray that they are not able to ever open again. Perhaps a new owner will come along and actually try to be a winery and produce a drinkable wine. That way, they wouldn’t have to rely on classless customers who drink whatever they’re drinking out of pitchers. Good riddance."

Southold Town Attorney Bill Duffy said the town has been forwarding complaints to the SLA; the SLA asked Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley for additional information.

"We're happy the SLA moved forward to suspend their license," Duffy said, adding that the town presented the SLA with police reports involving "overserving" and cases of alleged "alcohol poisoning," as well as zoning violations. "They essentially haven't been in compliance just about every weekend this summer."

Vineyard 48 is facing more than 30 charges in Southold Town Justice Court, Duffy said.

"It's been a long road," Duffy said. "We wish we could have had action sooner, but we've been on top of it and diligent and we finally got results."

At the last Southold Town board meeting, Cutchogue resident Bill Shipman pleaded for help with issues he believes have been sparked by Vineyard 48, a winery he says continues to pose health and safety concerns and shatter the bucolic quality of life for the surrounding community.

Bill and Beth Shipman have for years appeared before with the town board regarding traffic concerns, quality of life issues stemming from loud noise, obscenities being shouted over a loudspeaker at the winery and reported sex acts in the bushes — all stemming from a raucous crowd at Vineyard 48, he said.

Shipman listed recent offenses, including a drunk woman who reportedly was walking on Route 48 and a number of alcohol poisoning incidents of he said police have reported at the business.

Shipman then read a list of wineries and local pubs, none of which he said have seen the number of alcohol overdoses that have reportedly occurred at Vineyard 48: six last year and two in recent weeks.

"Why is this happening there?" Shipman asked.

"Irresponsible and grossly negligent" management, Russell said. The supervisor said the town hired special counsel to address ongoing litigation and asked them to look into speeding up the process. "We are frustrated with the pace of the legal process and asked special counsel to do all he can to expedite it," Russell said.

In 2016, the Shipmans said they were heartsick over a ruling by the New York State Liquor Authority they said was a "slap on the wrist".

Peter Sullivan, attorney for Vineyard 48, did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday.

Patch file photo.