Slinging Bud heavies, buffalo wings, and the like to eager patrons is essential work for Danny Presti and Keith McAlarney, the managers and owners of Mac’s Public House. When they publicly declared their bar an “Autonomous Zone,” in defiance of Governor Cuomo’s executive order to shut down, they did so with their backs against the wall. Like many small business owners in New York and elsewhere, Covid lockdowns had left them with nothing to lose.
This Tuesday, the owners refused to cease and desist. When their liquor license was seized, they gave the goods away for free. Drinks were on the house! Why not? They would be bankrupt soon, regardless. One owner, Presti, was arrested and spent the night in jail for giving his liquor to his friends on his property. The next evening, a massive crowd of nearly one thousand showed up to demand Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio allow Mac’s to reopen.
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