Years of complaints force closure of troubled tavern

For nearly two decades, Fenwick’s Bar, at 432 West 238th St., drew repeated 911 calls and waves of resident complaints over underage drinking and late-night violence in a familiar cycle of promises of change. But after months of escalating disturbances last year, the establishment has finally had its doors shut.

Fenwick’s storied history came to a close at the end of December in an NYPD raid following months of escalating disturbances. Even on weeknights, neighbors were often kept awake by the sounds of repeated street fights and drunken shouts — overnight disruptions that often extended into the morning commute.

Throughout 2025, multiple neighbors voiced their desperation at Community Board 8’s Parks and Recreation committee meetings, describing patrons routinely leaving the bar between roughly 3 and 10 a.m., visibly intoxicated, holding red plastic cups and getting into cars. Others reported loud music rattling windows, cars double-parked along Waldo Avenue and West 238th Street, and fights spilling onto nearby blocks.

Some noted Fenwick’s sits directly across from a family shelter, saying intoxicated patrons were often still congregating outside as children walked to school.

“This was happening consistently for months,” one resident said in December at a CB8 public safety meeting. “Every morning during those hours, drunken patrons leave the bar and spill out onto the street. It’s loud, chaotic and unsafe.”
In a joint statement, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, Councilmember Eric Dinowitz and Bronx Community Board 8, or CB8, said the bar continued to operate even after giving up its license, fueling persistent quality-of-life and safety concerns.

“Our offices continued to receive complaints for numerous issues including noise, disorderly conduct and illegal parking,” the statement said. “With the confirmation that the business was operating without a valid liquor license, an investigation was performed.”

According to a spokesperson for the New York State Liquor Authority, the establishment voluntarily surrendered its license on Nov. 10, roughly a month before its shutdown.

At last month’s CB8 regular board meeting, NYPD officials acknowledged the volume of emergency calls tied to the location, while noting that not every response resulted in a formal crime complaint.

“I see all the 911 calls,” said Lt. Brian Wolvers, 50th Precinct. “But we don’t have complaint reports for fights. If we need to have a complaint, we need an assault, an injury or something for it to start generating reports.”

In response, residents acknowledged the frequent presence of police vehicles nearby the bar but noted it did little to change conditions on the ground.

“There’s a lot of questionable conduct,” one neighbor added. “There are fights that carry into the surrounding streets. People are screaming, urinating, sometimes leaving bloodied.”

However, an establishment operating without a license complicates police enforcement as oversight shifts away from NYPD to the New York City Office of Nightlife, which focuses on mediation rather than enforcement. As a result, police retain the ability to respond to crimes but have fewer channels to address ongoing issues.

“When you call 911 and mention after-hours operation, serving minors or selling alcohol without a license, that automatically generates a case to Vice,” an NYPD official said. “They have to verify it step by step.”

That investigation, led by the 50th Precinct and the NYPD’s Vice Enforcement Division, culminated in a late-December raid of the bar, with authorities catching bartenders red-handed serving liquor to customers. Police issued violations, made arrests, confiscated all alcohol on the premises and locked the storefront.

For nearby residents, the shutdown was a long-awaited sigh of relief, capping the establishment’s storied and particularly violent past.

Nearly two decades earlier, in September 2007, a customer reported being forcibly removed by a bartender and seriously injured. The State Liquor Authority later suspended the bar’s liquor license for a week and imposed an $8,000 civil penalty, citing a broader pattern of violations that included earlier underage-drinking offenses. Records also show multiple citations in 2006 for selling alcohol to minors, including incidents tied to assaults.

In February 2010, a police report detailed a serious assault outside Fenwick’s in the early morning hours. A 32-year-old man was attacked by a group of roughly 15 people outside the bar and suffered severe facial injuries that required his jaw to be wired shut and a metal plate surgically implanted. One assailant was later arrested and charged with felony assault.

Enforcement continued for years to come.

In February 2015, police raided the bar in the early morning hours, issuing criminal summonses to eight minors for drinking with fake IDs.

At the time, then-owners Anne Travaglini and Ernie Carafa told CB8 they were committed to improving the bar’s reputation. The following month, police conducted additional sweeps of local bars, citing Fenwick’s for underage drinking and being above capacity with only one exit.

At a Community Board 8 meeting later that year, new owners again pledged reforms.
“We just purchased a new, top-of-the-line ID scanner,” one said at the meeting. “It now not only scans and verifies information but takes a picture of the ID and records it.”

But despite repeated assurances, police continued responding to noise and other complaints once classes resumed at nearby Manhattan University, home base for many of Fenwick’s customers.

As of this week, Fenwick’s remains closed. Elected officials said the outcome underscores the importance of sustained documentation and coordination between residents, community boards and enforcement agencies.

“Our residents deserve safe, quiet nights,” the joint statement said. “This shows what’s possible when complaints are taken seriously and followed through.”