With a new wave of Covid-19 infections rising across New York, the State Liquor Authority has suspended the licenses of 36 bars and restaurants ”“ including three in Yonkers ”“ that were caught breaking the rules designed to halt the spread of the virus.
The SLA’s actions were announced as statistics showed that yesterday there were 610 new active Covid cases reported in Westchester, bringing the cumulative total for the county to 55,797. The total number of fatalities reported in Westchester stood at 1,682 of which 1,539 had been Westchester residents.
So far, the SLA has suspended 279 liquor licenses for violations of the Covid rules.
“Some establishments have continued to ignore the rules, putting their customers, as well as their community as a whole, at risk,” said Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
“If we let our guard down and ignore basic public health rules, this winter could be one of the darkest periods of this pandemic and we simply cannot let that happen. We know the vaccine is on the way, we know there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but if we let up now and become undisciplined, it’s going to take us even longer to get there,” Cuomo said.
Margarita”™s Restaurant & Lounge at 332-334 S. Broadway in Yonkers had its license suspended as a result of officers with the Yonkers Police Department inspecting the premises shortly after midnight on Oct. 25 and finding more than 100 patrons crowded inside. That was nearly double the maximum occupancy allowed under Covid regulations.
Police found customers not wearing facial coverings, dancing and smoking hookahs. The police also found a DJ performing, with music audible a block away. The following evening, SLA investigators conducted a follow-up inspection. They found a DJ, two employees not wearing facial coverings, and 10 patrons not wearing face masks.
The liquor license of Sahara Café at 473 S. Broadway in Yonkers was suspended as a result of SLA investigators and officials with the Yonkers Fire Department conducting a compliance check.
The department found 124 people packed shoulder-to-shoulder inside the café. Its authorized maximum occupancy before the pandemic was 48 and under the Covid restrictions it could legally hold just 24 patrons. Social distancing inside was impossible and investigators documented no food being served as is required when alcohol is served. Numerous patrons were seen smoking hookahs in apparent violation of the state’s Indoor Smoking Act. The Sahara Café was originally licensed by the SLA in August.
The third liquor license suspended in Yonkers has been held by the Uptown Bar & Grill at 623 S. Broadway. Yonkers police conducted a compliance check of the premises and found 168 patrons crowded inside. The maximum capacity before the pandemic was 88 and under Covid restrictions it could legally hold 44 patrons.
Many people did not have on face masks. No food was being served along with the alcoholic beverages and people were smoking. Charges against the establishment for previous violations were pending.
