NYC Sheriffs Busted A Trio of New Year’s Eve Parties For COVID-19 Violations

More illegal parties with large crowds get shutdown

New Year’s Eve in NYC brought with it a scene that has become all too familiar in the last few months: large illegal parties defying COVID-19 restrictions. The city’s sheriff’s office busted three New Year’s Eve parties last week with hundreds of revelers in establishments located in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan, the New York Post reports.

At Maspeth Bar Lounge in Queens, officers discovered more than 300 people drinking and dancing at 2 a.m. on January 1. Over in Brooklyn, sheriffs discovered 80 people smoking hookah and dancing at the Sunset Park wedding venue Stars Hall, and in downtown Manhattan, 145 people were caught partying at a Prince Street loft space in the early hours of New Year’s Day. Owners and organizers at each of the three venues will now face fines of $15,000.

Since the start of the pandemic — and particularly in the last few months as the colder weather has pushed more people indoors — the sheriff’s office has broken up numerous illegal parties at bars across the city, even as cases continue to climb in New York, and the city recorded a seven-day COVID-19 positivity average of just over nine percent on Sunday, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio.

In other news

— Several more NYC restaurants have announced hibernation plans for the winter including Crown Heights spot Hunky Dory and East Village Korean-American restaurant Nowon.

— Bushwick bar Halsey Ale House, which had to temporarily close due to a fire next door in early December, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help keep its staff on payroll.

— The Curbside Canvas Project is a new neighborhood relief effort that’s pairing local restaurants with artists to create artwork for restaurants’ outdoor dining setups in neighborhoods like Hell’s Kitchen, Park Slope, and the Upper West Side.

— Charming East Village Italian restaurant Via Della Pace, which was destroyed by a fire in February this year is planning to reopen at a new location at 87 East 4th Street, between Second Avenue and Bowery.

— Happy New Year!