SLA ISSUES EMERGENCY SUSPENSION FOR JACKIE RAY'S TAVERN

The New York State Liquor Authority (SLA) summarily suspended the license of Jackie Ray’s LLC, doing business as “Jackie Ray’s Tavern,” at 859-863 Bay Street in Rochester today. The suspension was ordered by Chairman Vincent Bradley, Commissioner Lily Fan, and Commissioner Greeley Ford at a special meeting of the Full Board on March 25, 2022. Effective immediately, no alcohol may be sold or consumed on the premises.

On March 12, 2022, at 12:47 am, officers with the Rochester Police Department (RPD) responding to a report of a shooting at the bar found a male victim with a gunshot wound, who later died from his injuries, laying in front of the premises. Officers were required to force entry to investigate as the bar was locked with several people inside, including the licensee’s named principal and purported owner. Once inside, officers found blood, shell casings and projectiles indicative of a shooting inside the premises and learned that a second shooting victim arrived at the hospital with three gunshot wounds. On March 21^st the Rochester Police arrested Jackie Robinson in connection with the shootings, charging him with murder in the 2^nd degree, assault in the 2^nd degree, and criminal possession of a weapon. 

Following the shooting incident, the SLA learned of an earlier incident at the premises on January 15, 2022:  Rochester police had investigated the complaint of a patron who described being threatened with a gun inside the location by a man she described as “the owner” who she knew as “Jackie Ray.”  Information provided by RPD suggests that this is the same “Jackie” who was arrested for the subsequent shooting, and who is the spouse of the license’s named principal.   

The SLA has charged Jackie Ray’s Tavern with eight violations of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, including for operating a disorderly premises, operating in violation of the license’s approved method, and failure to adequately supervise. During the suspension, the SLA will prosecute these violations, the maximum penalty for which is revocation of the license.

“The SLA has zero tolerance for bars that threaten the safety of their neighborhoods and strain police resources,” said SLA Chairman Vincent Bradley. “The SLA has an obligation to ensure this violence does not continue, and this emergency suspension should serve as a message that this agency will not hesitate to take immediate action when a bar poses a threat to public safety.” 

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.