A video of people without masks in the kanga line at a Republican club holiday party in Queens drew sharp condemnation after it was posted on social media last week.
At that time, Govt. Rew Andrew M. Cuomo said, “Covid k lines nga line is not smart,” and the State Liquor Authority began investigating the Italian restaurant in Little Neck, where the party was held.
Now at least one person attending the party has been hospitalized with coronavirus, and the restaurant’s liquor license has been suspended indefinitely.
The party was thrown out by the Whitestone Republican Club on Dec. 9, days before Mr. Kuamo closed indoor dining, and was attended by several dozen people. Despite weeks of official warnings about the dangers of holiday cohorts being admitted to coronavirus hospitals in New York, most of them did not appear to be wearing masks in the video.
Matt Binder, a journalist, Posted a video of the Conga line on Twitter December 21, and soon criticism from officials and the public spread.
The club responded with a hostile tone.
A statement on the club’s Facebook page on December 22 said, “Adults have every right to make their own decisions, and clearly many people talk like normal men and not paranoid zombies in hazmat costumes.” It is our job to tell people what to do. “
One of the party members was James Trent, board chairman of the Queen’s Village Republican Club, who was later hospitalized after acknowledging Kovid’s symptoms.
Thomas Paladino, son of Vicky Paladino, president of the Whitestone Republican Club and a City Council candidate, and director of campaign strategy, confirmed that Mr. Trent had been hospitalized with the virus.
Mr Paladino said Mr Trent was doing well and was expected to be released from a Nassau County hospital on Thursday.
Mr Paladino said on Thursday that “an older person who shows a positive covid test will probably admit to you.”
Mr Trent told the Queen’s Daily Eagle, who first reported his hospitalization on Wednesday, that he had tried to behave cautiously.
“I was not on the Conga line,” Mr Trent said. “I eat on my own. I don’t know how I got this. “
The Whitestone Republican Club wished Mr. Trent “speedy recovery” and added that he understood that “his hospitalization is a precautionary measure.”
In a statement on its Facebook page on Thursday, the club said: “Even if he was infected with the virus at our event, his club’s holiday party took place a few days ago, or in the normal course of life he will never be known.” Said in the statement.
Mr Paladino said he had seen news reports that other parties had tested positive, but “as far as I know no one else really came” was fed up with the virus.
“I can tell you that I didn’t wear a mask all evening, had a lot of close conversations with Jim Trent, and I’m fine,” Mr. Paladino said, adding that he hadn’t been tested for coronavirus since the party. . (The virus is carried and transmitted by asymptomatic people.)
New York State Department of Health spokesman Gary Holmes said any potential coronavirus cluster investigation into the incident would be led in the city.
Tinatin Japaridez, press secretary of the New York City testing and tracing program, said she could not disclose details about specific cases of coronavirus due to patient confidentiality rules, but the agency would investigate the matter, as it is for all. Examples where the virus is spread.
Mr Paladino said precautions were taken at the club and restaurant – the party was held on two separate floors, each was given a mask and hand sanitizer was easily found – but he and the rest of the party were not “mask police”. ”
The State Liquor Authority launched an investigation into Il Bacco on December 23, two days after the party’s video surfaced online.
A spokesman for the authority, William Crowley, said the investigation had uncovered a number of violations, including employees not wearing masks properly and patrons trapped in the construction of a completely closed roof.
“Investigators found clear violations of indoor dining regulations and existing health safety and alcohol beverage control laws, while the masculine party featured in the video was verified,” Mr Crowley said in a statement. “This summary suspension should send a strong message that we have zero tolerance for New York’s health-threatening facilities.”
On Wednesday and Thursday no one answered several telephone calls to El Becko.
“We are currently closed until indoor dining begins. We miss you and look forward to serving you again,” the restaurant restaurant said in an outgoing message sent to the mail.
El Bicco manager Tina Maria Ppedisano and her father, the restaurant owner, were part of the group that sued Mayor Bill de Blasio and the governor for stopping indoor dining during the summer. She has been critical of restaurant restrictions.
“I don’t understand why we just can’t do our business,” Ms. Opdisso told The New York Times in December.
Potentially risky parties during an epidemic are nothing new, and large gatherings, which could become so-called supersprider events, have created conspiracies around the region.
Birthday party for the Democratic Power Broker in Brooklyn and New York Young Republican Gala in Jersey City, N.J. Democrats and Republicans alike were criticized for failing to adhere to coronavirus precautions in such programs.
Officials in New York and New Jersey have not confirmed whether any positive test results for the coronavirus are either linked to the incident.
Mr Paladino said the club had not been investigated, adding that “what is going on with El Becco is terrible.”
He said, “We are appalled by the situation imposed on them by the state.
Asked if he felt the club’s actions were responsible for Il Becco for losing the liquor license, Mr Paladino said Mr Cuomo’s rules were so strict, it was almost unavoidable.
“If it weren’t for us, it would be someone else,” he said.
