FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM NOVEMBER 26, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Avoid big holiday gatherings to stop COVID-19: Mayor
BY DEAN MOSES
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Mayor Bill de Blasio had a stark message
Astoria swingers club busted for violating COVID-19 crowd rules
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com
@robbpoz
Th e swinging times are over for now
amid the pandemic in Queens.
Th e New York City Sheriff ’s Offi ce raided
an illegal swingers club in Astoria
early on Saturday morning for violating
COVID-19 gathering rules, walking in on
patrons as they had sex inside the establishment,
it was reported.
Members of the offi ce and the 114th
Precinct made the seedy discovery while
visiting the Caligula club at 40-19 20th
Ave., just aft er midnight Sunday. Th e
club is located in the recently expanded
Queens “yellow zone,” which prohibits
crowds of more than 10 and any operating
hours past 10 p.m. daily.
Upon arriving at the scene, law enforcement
agents found more than 80 people
inside, with liquor served. Th e organizers
lacked proper the permits to store and
sell booze, according to the sheriff ’s offi ce.
Responding offi cers also spotted three
couples inside a small VIP room engaged in
sex. Th e area had beds lined up next to each
other for attendees to get down and dirty.
Couples were apparently charged anywhere
from $30 to $500 for however long
(or short) they needed its facilities.
Caligula LLC was issued a citation for
failure to protect health and safety, and
fi ned $15,000.
Th e sheriff ’s offi ce also charged the
club’s alleged manager, Roy Macoy, 37,
of Woodside, Queens, with violation of
an executive order, violation of an emergency
measure, operating an unlicensed
bottle club and unauthorized warehousing
of alcohol. He was also fi ned $1,000
for allegedly failing to protect health and
safety.
One patron, Jennifer Hayes, 47, of
Lynbrook, Long Island, was booked for disorderly
conduct and violation of an emergency
measure, the sheriff ’s ofi ce added.
for worshippers at the Calvary
Baptist Church in Jamaica during his
guest Sunday sermon: Sacrifi ce a big
Th anksgiving gathering this year to save
the lives of the people you love amid
the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hizzoner told the attendees
that he sympathized with
the desire among many
families to gather round
the table en masse over
turkey and good company.
But that just isn’t possible
now due to the second wave of the
COVID-19 pandemic, and the
ease in which the virus spreads.
Every New York family, de
Blasio said, has a
choice to make: “Are we going to do the
things we do every year or are we going to
do something diff erent?” For the mayor,
it’s a no-brainer.
“I will speak personally
and say I wish we could
do what we do every year
because one of the things
I look forward to each
year is Th anksgiving.
I look forward
to the biggest
possible
gathering
and
the most
family and
loved ones
around the
table,” de
Blasio said.
“But this year I will not be with some of
the people I love the most. Th is year will
be diff erent and it pains me to tell you that.
Th is year I won’t be with some of my loved
ones so I can be with them next year.”
Keeping a socially distant
Th anksgiving, he indicated, would help
the city battle the second wave of the
virus while continuing the strides New
Yorkers have made to fl atten the curve
and keep virus levels low since the dark
days of March and April of this year
— when hundreds died of the illness
every day.
“It is important, in this moment, to
understand what we have all done in
this city because there was a time, just
months ago, when we were the epicenter
of this crisis nationally,” the mayor
said. “Everyone here knows it. Everyone
here felt it. We’ve lost people. We went
through pain and then there was a
choice. Were we going to lie down and
give up, or were we going to do what
New Yorkers do and fi ght back? And we
fought back, and we went from a matter
of months from being the worst in this
whole nation to being the
fi rst to being the safest
place in the nation. We
lived that this year in New
York City and we achieved that this year
in New York City.”
Diligence and vigilance remain key
in the city’s battle against COVID-19,
according to de Blasio. He told the gathering
to continue abiding by regulations
to mask up and practice socially
distancing. In doing so, he emphasized
a point that Governor Andrew Cuomo
has made in recent weeks: that each
New Yorker’s personal behavior impacts
the extent of the outbreak here.
“Every time you put on the mask, and
every time you practice social distancing
and every choice you make, and
every choice contributes to what happens
to all of us,” the mayor said. “Th is
is where it is important to say that we
have something that no other city has;
we have that power, that strength that
goes along with the title New Yorker.”
Calvary Pastor Victor Hall reiterated
the need for all to be careful in celebrating
Th anksgiving this year, and urging
all to hold small dinners rather than
big gatherings.
“We wish you the best Th anksgiving.
Please, let us be careful. You see the
numbers are going up because people
are traveling,” the pastor advised.
With reporting by Robert Pozarycki.
Photo courtesy of NYC Sheriff ’s Offi ce
Photo by Dean
Moses
/WWW.QNS.COM
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