A pub in Staten Island, New York, established itself as an “autonomous zone” in defiance of Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s COVID-19 edicts.
“!ATTENTION! We hereby declare this establishment an !!!AUTONOMOUS ZONE!!!” signs proclaimed outside Mac’s Public House in Grant City, according to the New York Post. “We refuse to abide by any rules and regulations put forth by the Mayor of NYC and Governor of NY State.”
The signs referenced last summer’s short-lived anarchist settlement in Seattle, Washington, which fizzled when law enforcement disbanded them.
“At this point, we’re OK with it, because we’re not paying it,” co-owner Danny Presti said of the fines they have received for remaining open. “[The Sheriff’s Department] is issuing us $1,000 fines, so they keep coming back. We’re still here. We’re not letting them in.”
In addition to the thousands of dollars in fines, the pub also faced a shut-down order from the state Health Department and a revocation of its liquor license from the State Liquor Authority.
“We’re not backing down. You think you scared me by . . . saying I don’t have a license now to serve liquor now? Well, guess what? That liquor license is on the wall. If that liquor license is gonna come off the wall, it’s gonna be done by Cuomo. You wanna come down here and pull that license off the wall?” McAlarney says in a YouTube video that was posted Friday.
“De Bozo,” McAlarney continued, in an apparent reference to Democratic New York Mayor Bill de Blasio. “You want to come down here and pull the license off the wall?”
“Feel free to end up comin’ down, and we’ll end up having a conversation before you even think about stepping foot on my property. I will not back down,” McAlarney added.
Keith Atherholt, a patron who left a $100 tip for a glass of water, told the New York Post, “I totally support what he is doing. I don’t support the tyrannical nonsense they have in place. I gave them $100 for this water. They didn’t charge me. I gave it to support them.”
Cuomo was recently smacked down by the Supreme Court for his onerous restrictions on houses of worship.
As The Daily Wire reported:
The recent confirmation of President Trump-appointed Justice Amy Coney Barrett has resulted in its first significant Supreme Court outcome, and it relates to the first protected liberty specified in the Bill of Rights: the free exercise of religion.
In a 5-4 ruling late Wednesday night, the Supreme Court backed a religious challenge to Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s restrictions limiting attendance at religious services. The majority ruling blocks enforcement of the restrictions while the applicants pursue appellate review. The ruling highlights the lack of evidence that the applicants — the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, two Jewish synagogues, and an Orthodox Jewish organization — have contributed to the spread of the virus and questions the rationale of the specifics of Cuomo’s restrictions, which limited services to just 10 and 25 occupants for red and orange zones, respectively.
Related: Report: Seattle Mayor May Face Federal Charges Over ‘Autonomous Zone’ Fiasco