New York Bar Owner Hits Cop With Car, Arrested Twice In One Week For Violating Covid Restrictions

Topline

A Staten Island bar owner who has garnered national attention for his defiance and criticism of state coronavirus restrictions—a point of frustration for business owners across the country as the pandemic drags on—was arrested for the second time in a week in the early hours of Sunday morning for keeping his bar open despite a shutdown order and allegedly driving his car into a deputy sheriff. 

Key Facts

Crucial Quote

“I was trying to get their attention so that they would work with the industry instead of being lazy with their decisions and just closing things down,” Presti told The New York Times after his first arrest.

Chief Critics

Spokespeople from Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo both responded by accusing Presti of endangering those around him. “Breaking the law and putting your neighbors’ lives at risk during a global pandemic to make a political statement is simply unacceptable,” said Cuomo’s spokesman Jack Sterne. 

Key Background 

Protests similar to the one staged by the owners of Mac’s Public House have been popping up across the U.S. in recent weeks as frustration grows in the hospitality industry over the tightening of Covid-19 restrictions nearly a year into the pandemic. Numerous states have rolled back reopening measures—primarily targeting restaurants and bars—as the country reports record numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Restaurant and bar owners are concerned that they won’t make it through a winter that’s projected to be one of the deadliest periods in U.S. history. 

Big Number 

64%. That’s the percentage of New York’s restaurants that said they are likely to close by the end of the year unless given further federal aid, according to a September survey from the New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA).  

Chief Critic 

“It is painfully clear that without financial assistance, the restaurant industry in New York State could collapse,” wrote NYSRA’s President and CEO Melissa Fleischut, noting that the survey results indicate “just how dire the financial situation has become for most restaurants, and it shows how critical it is that elected officials understand the urgency of the situation.”

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