Whitestone Republican Club under fi re for maskless celebration
PUBLIC NOTICE
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | JAN. 1-JAN. 7, 2021 5
BY JACOB KAYE
It’s difficult to maintain
social distance in a conga
line.
The Whitestone Republican
Club came under fire this
week after a video of its members
partying and dancing
maskless indoors circulated
online.
Shared from a private Facebook
group by journalist
Matt Binder, the clip shows
members of the local political
club being led through a
conga line by hardline conservative
and City Council
candidate Vickie Paladino.
The party, which took
place on Friday, Dec. 11, at
Il Bacco Risturante in Little
Neck, appeared to be a celebration
void of COVID-19
guidelines, despite the Republican
Club suggesting
otherwise.
“In early December we held
a small gathering observing
all the covid sic guidelines
in place at the time,” the club
wrote on its Facebook page
this week. “Every attendee
was told to wear a mask and
everyone either had one when
entering or was given one.”
According to the club’s
Facebook page, no one who
attended the party has since
come down with the virus,
which has killed over 36,000
people in New York in the
past nine months.
“Yes, we held a holiday
party. A good time was had
by all,” the club wrote in a
separate post. “But we are
not the mask police, nor are
we the social distancing police.
Adults have the absolute
right to make their own
decisions, and clearly many
chose to interact like normal
humans and not paranoid
zombies in hazmat suits.”
The party was held the day
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced
indoor dining would
be shut down in the state the
following Monday, Dec. 14.
The video made its way to
the Cuomo, who the owners
of Il Bacco sued over indoor
dinning restrictions earlier
this year.
“I saw the video — COVID
conga lines are not smart.
That’s my official position,”
Cuomo said. “Why you would
do an unmasked conga line
in the middle of a COVID
pandemic, whatever your political
persuasion, defies logical
explanation, as far as I’m
concerned.”
The Queens GOP flocked
to support Joe Oppedisano,
the owner of the restaurant,
and his daughter, Tina Oppedisano,
who manages Il Bacco,
after they filed a $2 billion
class action action lawsuit
against city and state leadership
in August, claiming the
shut down in New York City
led to “irreparable harm” for
the eatery and the industry
at large.
The owner, who crashed a
seaplane in the Flushing Bay
in October, is a vocal supporter
of outgoing President
Donald Trump.
Neither Il Bacco’s ownership
nor Paladino responded
to QNS’ request for comment.
Screenshot via Twitter/@MattBinder
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