East Village, LES restaurants lose liquor license
for violating COVID-19 regulations
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
Two more establishments in
the East Village and Lower
East Side were among 21
statewide that have had their
liquor licenses suspended for
not complying with COVID-19
regulations this month.
The latest round of suspensions
brings the total up to 238. In total,
1,362 charges have been fi led
against bars and restaurants for
violating coronavirus-related rules.
The emergency suspensions were
ordered by State Liquor Authority
(SLA) Chairman Vincent Bradley,
Commissioner Lily Fan and Commissioner
Greeley Ford at special
meetings with the full SLA board
between Sept. 30 and Oct. 21.
“Rules are only as good as
enforcement, and as we have
ramped up checks on bars and
restaurants, compliance has
increased, creating a safer environment
for everyone. A small
number of business owners still
don’t think the rules apply to them
People walk by restaurant’s outdoor patios after New York
City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced 21 more locations for outdoor
dining options as part of a city initiative that combines the
Open Streets and Open Restaurants programs in place to fight
the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Manhattan,
New York City, U.S., August 14, 2020.
— even in focus zones where the
state has tracked increased spread
— and these suspensions should
serve as a reminder that we will
take action against those who callously
put New Yorkers in harm’s
way,” Governor Andrew Cuomo
said in an Oct. 23 announcement.
“As we continue to fi ght
FILE PHOTO
clusters across the state, bar and
restaurant owners should know
that the State’s task force will
keep enforcing the law, and if they
do not follow the rules they will
lose their right to serve alcohol.”
The restaurants are as follows:
Fat Buddha, 212 Avenue
A, East Village — On Oct. 9,
investigators with the state’s
multi-agency task force and offi
cers with the NYPD observed
over twenty patrons standing,
congregating and drinking
directly in front of the business
without facial coverings well past
the 11 p.m. NYC curfew for outside
dining. Investigators noted
the kitchen was closed and there
was no evidence of food being
served, in addition to numerous
patrons entering and exiting the
premises with open containers.
NYPD offi cers dispersed the
crowd and issued a summons for
Executive Order violations.
Rochelle’s, 19 Stanton St,
Lower East Side — On Oct.
9, investigators with the state’s
multi-agency task force observed
seven patrons standing and
mingling inside without facial
coverings. A security guard at the
door and the premises’ manager
were also observed without facial
coverings. The business was operating
well past the midnight cut
off for indoor service in New York
City, with investigators fi nding no
evidence of substantial food being
served — in direct violation
of guidelines created to prevent
congregation and mingling that
have led to COVID-19 spikes in
other states.
In addition to taking action
through the State’s Multi-Agency
Task Force against establishments
downstate where local enforcement
has been lax, the SLA has
continued enforcement efforts
statewide with a specifi c focus on
areas around colleges and counties
with increases in COVID-19 cases.
Businesses found in violation
of these regulations face fi nes up
to $10,000 per violation, while
egregious violations can result
in the immediate suspension of a
bar or restaurant’s liquor license.
Suspension orders are served
immediately and remain in effect
indefi nitely, and licensees subject
to an emergency suspension are
entitled to an expedited hearing
before an SLA Administrative
Law Judge.
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
A federal lawsuit fi led in
Manhattan on Monday
morning accuses Mayor
Bill de Blasio, Police Commissioner
Dermot Shea and the
NYPD of violating the civil rights
of 11 marchers who were arrested
and/or assaulted by cops during
the George Floyd protests earlier
this year.
The New York Civil Liberties
Union and the Legal Aid
Society fi led the suit on behalf
of individuals who participated
in protests that broke out across
the city between May 28 and June
28 in the aftermath of Floyd’s killing
at the hands of Minneapolis
police offi cers.
The lawsuit accuses NYPD
offi cers of employing “aggressive
techniques” against the marchers
in an effort to control the protests
— from dousing them with
pepper spray, to assaulting them
with batons, to “kettling” large
groups of marchers, blocking off
any means of egress and sparking
standoffs with armed offi cers.
Thirty-eight unidentified
members of the NYPD were also
Mayor, NYPD sued by protesters arrested and
assaulted during George Floyd marches
named as defendants in the lawsuit,
as the victims were not able
to identify all of them by name.
“When tens of thousands of
New Yorkers took to the streets
peacefully to protest police killings
of George Floyd, Breonna
Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, the
NYPD unleashed an indiscriminate
and brutal wave of violence
to punish protesters for demonstrating
against police violence,”
said Donna Lieberman, executive
director of the NYCLU. “Instead
of holding the NYPD accountable
for the repeated abuses, the mayor
and the police commissioner
became the apologists-in-chief.
The city’s response to the righteous
wave of #BlackLivesMatter
protests is a stain on the city that
can’t be allowed to go unchecked,
especially as New Yorkers prepare
for the possibility of a new wave
of protest after the election.”
The lawsuit fi led in the Manhattan
based Southern District of
New York documents some of the
alleged civil rights violations that
Two young men were arrested at the Manhattan Bridge during
a protest on May 31, 2020.
protesters suffered at the hands of
NYPD offi cers during the spring
protests.
The NYCLU, Legal Aid Society
and the 11 protesters are seeking
financial compensation from
the city for damages infl icted,
but also acknowledgement that
the protesters’ First and Fourth
Amendment rights were violated.
They are also seeking “discovery
and disclosure from the city” to
reveal NYPD protest policies
PHOTO BY TODD MAISEL
“and the extent to which the
mayor and police leadership authorized
the brutal treatment of
peaceful protesters.”
“The world was rightly shocked
when the NYPD met demonstrators
against police harassment
and violence with the very abuse
they took to the streets to protest,”
added Corey Stoughton of
the Legal Aid Society. “Mayor de
Blasio and Commissioner Shea
encouraged and allowed this
violent response, a gross failure
of leadership that continues a
longstanding pattern of promoting
of culture of impunity for
police misconduct primarily
affecting Black and Brown New
Yorkers, and failing to meet the
moment and address New Yorkers’
demands for change.”
When reached for comment
about the litigation, an NYPD
spokesperson replied, “We will
review the lawsuit if and when
we are served.”
During his Monday morning
press conference, de Blasio
declined to go into the details
of the lawsuit, but said that the
NYPD is committed to improving
relationships between police and
the communities they serve.
“Clearly, what we want and
what we believe in is a better
and more peaceful relationship
between the NYPD and the community,”
de Blasio said. “I’m not
going to speak to the details of the
lawsuit, but I think the underlying
concept just isn’t fair.”
Schneps Media October 29, 2020 3