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Presents social distancing problems
With many of the nation’s bars, restaurants and taprooms still operating at limited capacity thanks to COVID-19, beer gardens are more popular than ever. But beer gardens in New York City and Boston are already being reprimanded for not following local social-distancing edict.
On Tuesday Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that New York City’s oldest beer garden had lost its liquor license after violating pandemic-related rules.
Located in Astoria, Queens, Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden is a local legend.
The Czech beer garden has been serving up beer since 1919 (with a short break during Prohibition) but that was halted by authorities on August 9, which according to Patch, coincides with “a planned gladiator battle in the venue’s sprawling outdoor space.”
Investigators with New York’s multi-agency task force, which monitors compliance with the state’s coronavirus regulations to make sure that everybody’s behaving themselves, spotted 20 mask-less customers standing and drinking in the beer garden on Saturday night, in violation of social distancing guidelines.
“Another 20 customers were lined up for drinks at the bar, in ‘flagrant violation’ of a March 16 executive order that restricted large gatherings and restaurant and bar operations,” state officials said in a news release.
“We will not allow a handful of bad actors or reckless businesses to halt or reverse New York’s progress,” Cuomo said, and it appears that the Governor wasn’t kidding.
And they’re not kidding in Boston either, where the Boston Licensing Board will host two emergency hearings on August 13 to address complaints that it has received regarding non-compliance with COVID-19 social distancing guidelines at Boston beer gardens.
The Boston Licensing Board August 13 hearing will address a full roster of complaints that could lead to the possible revocation of outdoor dining licenses including:
– Failure to adhere to the guidance issued by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts regarding social distancing and mandatory operational requirements and the Board’s various advisories regarding the same;
– Failure to properly monitor patrons waiting in line for admission to the premise; and
– Failure to adhere to City, state, and federal laws, codes, and ordinances regarding tobacco use and the presence of animals in food service establishments including outdoor patios.
According to Eater “One complaint about Cisco’s Seaport beer garden states:
“The places themselves appear to be adhering to the social distancing guidelines inside their establishments and operating at a reduced capacity. But one of the unintended consequences is that this creates a line to get in — sometime 50-150 people — all jammed up on one another with no social distancing.”
Bottom line, the coronavirus has upended everything and the hits just keep coming…
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