After becoming "the party street of Queens," a popular lounge on Steinway Street in Astoria has been suspended from the open restaurants program for seven days to give the business time to submit a plan to the city on social distancing compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic, City Hall confirmed on Sunday.
After about a week of nightly partying on the block, the Brik Astoria must now work with the city on how it plans to properly oversee outdoor seating.
A City Hall spokesperson confirmed Brik Astoria is not supposed to be serving any customers outdoors until a new plan is set. The de Blasio administration says it will provide feedback on a plan once the restaurant submits one.
But Brik Astoria owner John Zorbas says the lounge, which serves food and beverages, planned to continue seating people outdoors on the sidewalk, where it has had permitted seating for years.
Zorbas claims the city's Department of Transportation only told the business about the suspension of new street seating permitted by the city during the pandemic.
"We were only informed of the street," Zorbas said. "We have the outdoor sidewalk permit. We have that from before COVID."
"Obviously, when I'm informed, I'll do it," he added. Brik was open for takeout and a handful of outdoor tables on the sidewalk Sunday afternoon.
Bartender Kim Cortez said the establishment shouldn't be blamed for the partying on Steinway Street. "We can't physically control people who are just standing on the sidewalk," Cortez said Sunday morning. She added those who are standing out front may not necessarily be their customers, adding to the confusion.
Police leave Brik lounge in Astoria after shutting it down due to large crowds gathering in violation of social distancing guidelines.
A letter from the DOT to Zorbas specifies that he must "remove all tables, chairs, platforms, barricades and any other roadway seating elements from this space immediately" or face a $1,000 fine plus the cost to remove the seating. The letter does not mention sidewalk seating. Brik is required to submit a plan that will ultimately get the Health Department's approval.
Sheriff Joseph Fucito will return to the area this afternoon, the de Blasio spokesperson said.
The Sheriff's office handed out 5,000 face coverings Saturday night after elected officials and local residents were outraged by the packed Steinway party scene, with drinking, dancing, and people climbing atop an ice cream truck in previous days.
"It's just a small step back to remind people we're still in a pandemic," a bouncer, who declined to give his name, told us Saturday night after the order was issued. "We're all eager to get back to the way things were before and sometimes we get a little bit ahead of ourselves, and that's all it was."
Patrons were required to leave after the street seating was shut down at the location Saturday night.
Outside of the bar, Mike, who held a to-go cocktail in a plastic container, said, "It's a business, they gotta run their shit. I think it's kinda unfair."
"We just wanted to have a nice dinner, a girl's night out," said Tatiana Soriano, 19, of Forest Hills. "We Uber'd here and were expecting that."
Soriano added: "I just feel like our lives can't stop because of this, so it's nice that they're slowly reopening."
Police hand out masks outside Brik Lounge in Astoria, Queens.
City Councilmember Costa Constantinides said, "We understand many bars and restaurants are in dire straits because of the pandemic."
"That's no excuse, however, for the small few to turn our neighborhood into one giant resort bar," he said in a statement Saturday afternoon. Neighbors organized a Sunday morning clean-up after the weekend parties.
No other restaurant has been suspended out of the 8,700 establishments permitted to expand sidewalk seating into the curb area or parking space on the street, the de Blasio spokesperson said.
On Friday, the program was expanded to 40 blocks of roadways for an open restaurants and open streets dual program in order to allow for businesses to space out tables six feet apart in the street through October.
On the Lower East Side, bar-goers packed an area underneath a tent outside of Set LES, a Ludlow Street bar.
A neighbor who lives at Ludlow and Houston Streets told us, "No one gives a shit and it's like April never happened," referring to the peak of coronavirus infections in New York.
The crowded scene of patrons evinced scant mask wearing, and appears like this most evenings Thursday to Sunday, the neighbor added.
The bar didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. We've asked the Mayor's Office about the Lower East Side photos.
Last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a new rule saying bars and restaurants could be shuttered if they violate social distancing protocols three times.
The governor's office also reiterated that to-go drinks are only permitted if food is purchased, spurring one upstate bar to sell $1 "Cuomo chips" to comply. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.
The State Liquor Authority's spokesperson William Crowley said Saturday the agency is aware of the problem in Queens. He added it is the city's responsibility to enforce social distancing and "they must ensure activity like this that risks transmission of COVID-19 are not allowed to take place."
Crowley didn't immediately answer a question on Sunday on whether the SLA is considering suspending Brik's liquor license or others in NYC. In Manhattan, the agency suspended the liquor license of White Horse Tavern in the West Village after repeated violations of Cuomo's COVID-19 restaurant restrictions, operating an unauthorized outdoor bar, and failure to supervise the area.
