By Howard Koplowitz
A Bellerose club that residents and civic leaders say has been a nuisance in the community has been boarded up, but not for the reasons some had hoped.
An all-hands fire ripped through the Blue Room, a café/club at 248-13 Union Turnpike, at around 7 p.m. Dec. 21, according to the Breaking News Network and civic leaders.
A Fire Department spokesman said the cause of the fire was still under investigation as of Tuesday but the blaze did not appear to be suspicious.
The owner of the Blue Room could not be reached for comment.
The fire occurred nearly a month after someone was shot twice in the leg near the Bellerose establishment, according to North Bellerose Civic Association member Lucy DeFranceschi.
Ever since the Blue Room opened up earlier this year, it has been the source of noise and drawn complaints from civic leaders and neighbors.
In March, a 16-year-old suffered brain damage during a large fight outside the Blue Room.
Carlos Tovar, manager of the Blue Room, told TimesLedger in August that he wanted to work with the community and offered to hold charity events in the space for free.
He also pledged to make the café/club a better neighbor, but nearby residents say the Blue Room is still too noisy and holds late night parties that disrupt the neighborhood.
Carol Weiner, who lives diagonally across from the Blue Room on 249th Street, said the establishment has caused nothing but problems for her and her neighbors.
“It’s been a nightmare ever since they moved in,” she said. “At 4 o’clock in the morning the noise starts. It’s really quite dangerous. We’ve called the police on numerous occasions.”
Besides the noise, the Bellerose resident said some patrons publicly urinated on her front lawn and she asked the 105th Precinct and the North Bellerose Civic Association to intervene.
Weiner said she saw the Blue Room boarded up last week.
“I’m hoping that they close it down,” she said.
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
