Bar patron says he was assaulted

By Tommy Hallissey

A 43-year-old Riverdale resident says a bartender at Fenwick's punched him in the face, slammed him into a wall and threw him out of the bar onto his head breaking his jaw, after a fight broke out at the West 238th Street bar over the summer.

The man reported the incident to 50th Precinct only recently, more than two months after the alleged fight. Police are now investigating.

On July 2, the 43-year-old man was at Fenwick's, when he started fighting with another bar patron, according to police.

He told police that the bartender forcibly removed him from the bar, roughing him up in the process. He said he was thrown out on his head and suffered facial fractures and a broken jaw.

Marlon Moctezuma, a manager at Fenwick's who was not there that night, said the bar is still investigating what happened, but the bartender no longer works there. "We're not saying it's true and we're not saying it isn't true," said Mr. Moctezuma.

Mr. Moctezuma acknowledged the victim was a friend of his and a frequent patron at the bar. But he said the 43-yearold man was a bit of a problem drinker, and once broke his nose at another bar. Mr. Moctezuma said he had even been asked by the victim's boss not to let him drink in the bar, because he often wouldn't show up for work the next day.

The fight isn't Fenwicks' only problem. The state Liquor Authority suspended its liquor license from Sept. 12 to Sept. 19. Mr. Moctezuma chalked up the suspension to old violations dating back to 2002. But the current owners faced an $8,000 civil penalty in August.

Twice in 2006, Fenwick's was busted for selling alcohol to minors. In April, the bar received four violations on the same day in conjunction with an assault.

Other local watering holes have seen an uptick in assaults this month as well.

On Sept. 12, at Keenan's Bar on Broadway, Walter Navedo, 41, was arrested at 11:20 p.m. for beating three men with a pool stick. Earlier that day, at Ireland's Own, also on Broadway, a 20-year-old Yonkers man was hit on the side of the face with a bottle. No arrests have been made yet.