By Mike Golz and Brendan O’Reilly
A popular Hempstead Turnpike bar that served University students for more than 25 years may not reopen, leaving happy hours at the nightspot as nothing more than a blurry memory.
McHebes’ forced closing followed an aggressive police crackdown on underage drinking.
The repeated drinking violations and strident opposition from residents living near McHebes will force the bar to remain closed for the rest of the semester, and may shut it down for good, owner Rob Verderosa said.
“We don’t know how long we will be closed, honest to God, it could be six months to two years,” he said.
The closings of McHebes and Bogart’s, another Turnpike bar that shut its doors last month, come amid heightened scrutiny from authorities attempting to curb underage drinking.
Bogart’s owner Matt Prince said he closed his bar out of frustration with the crackdown. Prince opened Bogart’s in 1994, when he was a senior at the University.
Nassau County Police and the New York Liquor Authority jointly conducted raids at both bars, officials said.
“We’ve locked up eight bartenders over the past few months,” Sgt. David Curry, a Nassau County Police spokesman, said.
Verderosa denied that the violations at McHebes were serious. He suggested that residents complaining about raucous students returning home from the bar were responsible for its closing.
“A woman who lives in the neighborhood who had some political connections moaned a lot,” he said. “She got to higher-ups and got us shut down.”
Verderosa declined to disclose the name of the woman or the other community members involved in the dispute.
“They started going through hearings with the New York State Liquor Authority,” Verdosa said. “She had a lot of clout and was able to get us closed down.”
McHebes’ problems are connected to shifting trends in where students are choosing to live, he said.
“This lady is mad because of all the hoot and hollering. [Students] don’t know how to act at 3 a.m.,” Verderosa said. “The big issue is that people don’t understand that there are lots of frats, and people who used to go back to campus now go into the community.”
Last week, long lines stretched around The Dizzy Lizard, one of the few bars left near the University.
“We open at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, and once we reach 30 occupants under capacity, we have to close the doors,” Manager Joe Lynch said.
A recorded message on the answering machine at McHebes jokingly explains that the bar is closed down indefinitely because all of the employees have the flu and will not reopen until they find the antidote.
Verderosa said it is a sad thing to see McHebes shut down.
“I have such a bad taste in my mouth about that community that I’m not even sure I even want to come back,” Verderosa said.
The minimum age for entrance into Bogart’s was 18 and in accordance with the law, patrons had to be 21 years old to purchase alcohol from the bar.
Yet Bogart’s accepted a University I.D. card, which does not include age or birth date, according to former patrons.
Eileen Ferry, a sophomore, said those 21 and older received a wristband at the door allowing them to buy drinks from the bar, though bartenders did not check for proof of age or wristbands when selling drinks.
“At the bar they don’t even ask for I.D.,” said sophomore Steve Loeb. “They sell you whatever you ask for.”
Many of Bogart’s longtime patrons said they would miss the bar’s charm.
“It was the sketchiest place ever,” said sophomore Jackie Sherbow. “That’s why I loved it.”
McHebes (inset) remains vacant. (Harry Tanielyan/The Chronicle)