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#NYC karaoke bar shuttered over COVID-19 violations

“#NYC karaoke bar shuttered over COVID-19 violations”

The city sheriff’s office pulled the plug on a Queens karaoke joint after patrons were spotted sneaking in and out of the bar through a nearby junk yard, authorities said.

Acting on a tip that the establishment was breaking the city’s coronavirus laws, deputies set up surveillance outside the Platinum Lounge on Fuller Place in Flushing at 10 p.m. Friday.

About 15 minutes later, deputies observed two male patrons exit from the side of the lounge through a scrap/salvage shop by following “a circuitous path through used automobile shells and machinery parts,” authorities said.

Deputies raiding the lounge found “individuals sitting at the bar with drinks and no food.”

Some 30-40 people, many not wearing masks, scurried out.

The deputies found beer and alcohol inside the premises, but no liquor license.

The business was closed, liquor was confiscated, and the remaining patrons were issued masks and escorted out.

The owner and staff were issued numerous summonses in violation of the mayor and governor’s executive order with regard to social distancing, indoor dining and also unauthorized warehousing of alcohol.

The Platinum Lounge sting marked the city’s fifth in under a month against a karaoke bar for COVID-19 violations — three more have been raided in Flushing, and another in Borough Park, Brooklyn.