New York
Related: About this forumNYS: COVID. 168 bars/restaurants to date have had their liquor licenses suspended...
...for violation of the pandemic-related executive orders. The majority of the suspensions occurred after 7/1, after Governor Cuomo (and New Yorkers phoning in complaints) decided that enough was enough. In many cases, the businesses had received prior warnings/citations, but failed to address them. (Several were also cited for offering services that they weren't licensed for, such as hookah. And an exotic entertainer.)
~136 of the businesses were in NYC, with another 12 in Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties. Some have had the suspension lifted, after paying some very healthy fines ranging from $5,000 to $35,000, depending on the number and type of violations.
On a positive note, the number of businesses that have been found egregiously violating the law has declined since they ramped up disciplinary actions. (And the majority of them were already in compliance.)
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the state has suspended liquor licenses for six additional bars/restaurants in New York State after finding egregious violations of pandemic-related Executive Orders, bringing the total number of liquor licenses suspended during the coronavirus pandemic to 168. Between Monday and Friday nights, the state's multi-agency task force -- led by the State Police and State Liquor Authority -- conducted 5,981 compliance checks, documenting violations at 35 establishments. Businesses found in violation of COVID-19 regulations face fines up to $10,000 per violation, while egregious violations can result in the immediate suspension of a bar or restaurant's liquor license.
"New Yorkers' hard work is paying off, with the state maintaining an infection rate of less than 1% for over three weeks straight but we must remain vigilant and continue to follow the guidelines that got us here or risk backsliding," Governor Cuomo said. "Compliance in higher-risk industries like bars and restaurants has been key to achieving this progress, and as today's suspensions show, the state will hold bad actors who put public health in danger accountable. The vast majority of bar owners continue to take this public health emergency seriously, but my message to the small number who openly flout the rules is simple: we will not tolerate you putting yourselves, your customers, your employees, your neighbors, and our reopening at risk."
State Liquor Authority Chair Vincent Bradley said, "We are seeing better compliance across the state as a direct result of the hard work of the task force and the actions of conscientious business owners that are putting public health and safety first. But we're still in the middle of a global pandemic, and the task force will continue taking action against the small number of establishments who willfully violate the coronavirus-related regulations."
BigmanPigman
(52,252 posts)In San Diego they are taking months and still not doing much when it is obvious the bars and gyms and large beach gatherings without masks and S. Distancing is allowed to continue with just a warning. What BS! People are complaining in droves, it is being reported on local news and still the city ais not doing anything to close them down.