A friend of the owner’s who was present during the arrest said that as soon as people started filming, New York sheriffs started covering up cameras, and handed out summons to everyone inside the pub, including the owner’s lawyer.
“They gave me 3 summons, just for being their attorney,” said the lawyer.
The owner says the mayor and governor cannot keep shifting the blame.
“At some point, you can’t just keep shutting down, these governors are not kings, they cannot just say and just do whatever they want, especially for this long. We have pleaded with the mayor and governor to work with us, and they haven’t. They keep kicking the can down the line, trying to blame the federal government. But you know what? The federal goverment did not shut us down. You can’t just keep blaming it on them. The state right here in NY was shut down by the governor and this mayor. It’s on them, they have to assist us,” said owner Danny Presti.
The owner said he will continue standing up for his rights and won’t be intimidated by the arrest.
“When it comes down to it, there is right and wrong, there are right and wrong and there are truths, in the end, we feel like what we’re doing is right and we’re fighting for everybody,” said Presti.
Presti says he is only trying to provide for his family and that small business owners know how to operate safely.
Leticia Remauro, who’s running for borough president in Staten Island, echoed this sentiment.
“We know better than anyone how to keep our customers safe. Because we have invested our life savings into creating a business,” said Remauro.
A NY state assemblywoman tweeted that murder and shootings are way up in New York City, but the mayor and governor are instead directing law enforcement to lock up small business owners.
In NYC, Shootings are up 96%, Murder up 38%, Burglary up 42%, the state’s new bail law is releasing career criminals back onto our streets in droves & our mayor and governor are directing law enforcement to arrest small business owners. This is why so many New Yorkers are fed up. https://t.co/2xALLrDSCs
— Nicole Malliotakis (@NMalliotakis) December 2, 2020
Mac’s public house will stop serving food and beverage at the establishment, but says it will do whatever it can to uphold its autonomous zone.
Reporting by Arian Pasdar and Phil Zou, NTD News New York
