The Long Island bar gets into hot water over the weekend after apparently allowing dozens of customers inside the building to drink that violates the country’s coronavirus closure.
Videos posted on social media showed a number of people without masks being packed in the Dublin Deck Tiki Bar and Grill in Patchogue on Friday night while the music was playing.
“Everyone’s so thirsty, let’s go!” someone can be heard screaming in one clipwhen the crowd knocked back beer at the bar.
“Finally back to normal!” shouted a happy person.
Suffolk County Police received 911 phone calls late Friday about a bar that did not obey Governor PAU Cuomo’s “PAUSE” orders, but said no summons was issued, Newsday reports.
Reps for the bar apologized in a Facebook post on Saturday, saying they would stick to social rules moving forward. Facebook pages have since been deleted.
“We apologize to anyone who might be offended by the video that appeared,” read the post, according to Newsday. “We assure you that it was not intended and will not happen again.”
One of the owners, Frank Mills, claims that the bar allows visitors to enter during “rapid rainfall.” Most of them were sailors parked at a nearby marina who ordered food to leave, he said.
“Everyone decided to run out of the rain and they overwhelmed us,” Mills told the outlet. “As simple as that. That has never happened before and it will never happen again. “
The crowd may act inappropriately because they are itching to socialize, Mills added.
“Everyone crouched down. We do what we are supposed to do, “Mills said. “You can call it what you want, but they try hard to do something.”
At a press conference on Sunday, governor’s aide, Melissa DeRosa, denounced the customer’s actions as “stupid.”
“From what I understand, the photos show people in this room and they are not wearing masks. That’s stupid. Stupid for you, it’s stupid for customers around you, it’s stupid for bars,” DeRosa said.
DeRosa noted that the water hole said it only provided shelter from the rain, and that law enforcement reached the Suffolk District police.
“I accept them for their words that this is what happened, but moving forward they must pay attention, and once again the enforcement is up to the local population,” he said.
Cuomo added: “It should have picked up on the curb, right? That doesn’t sound like a roadside pickup.”
Suffolk Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said that when the police responded to the bar, about 85 percent of customers had left.
The police said they followed up with Suffolk Regency’s other establishments and businesses throughout the weekend.
Dublin Deck did not immediately return calls from The Post on Sunday night.
