Officers from the New York City sheriff’s office stand outside Mac’s Public House on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, on Staten Island, N.Y. An owner of the New York City bar that was providing indoor service in defiance of coronavirus restrictions was arrested after a sting in which plainclothes officers went inside and ordered food and beverages, the city sheriff’s office said. (Irene Spezzamonte/Staten Island Advance via AP)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 12:40 PM PT – Saturday, December 5, 2020
A New York bar declared itself an autonomous zone by defying the state’s COVID-19 orders and opening for service.
On Friday evening, Mac’s Public House in Staten Island resisted Gov. Cuomo’s orders and packed in dozens of customers.
Co-owner Danny Presti said his bar hasn’t been able to pay bills under the New York governor’s orders. He emphasized that they are barely scraping by.
In recent weeks, Cuomo has faced major backlash due to his tightening of pandemic restrictions that force businesses to shut down.
Hundreds rallied in Staten Island last night outside of Mac’s Public House, the bar that declared itself an “autonomous zone”. Protestors say they feel small “non essential” businesses should not be forced to close in COVID-19 hot spots if big businesses can stay open #nyc #COVID pic.twitter.com/jJPknZbDIY
— Mary-Lyn Buckley (@ml_buckley) December 3, 2020
New Yorkers gathered outside of Mac’s Public House in support of the business. Residents said they are outraged by the new restrictions.
Here a little something I put together for Mac’s public house bar in staten island. Footage is from 12/2/20
Filmed and owned by Leeroy Johnson #statenisland #NYC #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/ed0XP8Bgbc— Leeroy Johnson (@LeeroyPress) December 4, 2020
“Again, you can’t strip people’s livelihoods down for this long and not give assistance,” Presti stated. “The government is supposed to be here for us to take care of us and that’s the exact opposite of what’s happening.”
Presti added that he tried to sit down with city and state officials, but it was clear government officials did not want to work with the business.
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