Nov 25, 2020 11:44 PM
Democratic leaders in Brooklyn mingled at a party. Few wore masks. (NYT): As New York reinstitutes tough virus restrictions, local Democratic leaders had to apologize for socializing at a birthday party without masks. [...] But many New Yorkers were dismayed by the lack of caution depicted in the photos. James Patchett, the president of the city’s economic development corporation under Mr. de Blasio, called on the officials at the party to step down. “This is an embarrassment,” he wrote on Twitter. “Every one of these people should resign.”
Joseph Borelli, a Republican city councilman from Staten Island, said Democrats were being hypocritical after criticizing him for saying earlier that he would hold a large family gathering for Thanksgiving. He pointed to Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California who apologized for attending a lavish dinner without a mask, as another example. “Many of the most panicked purveyors of Covid craziness are actually members of the ‘good for thee, not for me’ set,” he said.
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COVID ignored at Brooklyn birthday party with NYC politicians (NYDN): Adherence to COVID regulations was checked at the door at a recent birthday party featuring a number of Kings County powerhouses. Photos of a celebration for Carlo Scissura, head of the powerful construction trade organization New York Building Congress, show revelers in close quarters without masks. Attendees included Deputy Brooklyn Borough President Ingrid Lewis-Martin and former Brooklyn Democratic Party Chairman Frank Seddio.
In one image, about two dozen people are seen mingling with one another in an ornate dining area while celebrating Scissura’s 50th. Only two of them are visibly wearing masks. In another shot, there are a dozen people crammed in the dining area, with just one person wearing a mask. Seddio can be seen in the background chatting with Lewis-Martin — neither of them with a mask.
[...] The party happened on Nov. 14, according to Lewis-Martin. Days earlier, Gov. Cuomo ordered New Yorkers to limit private gatherings to no more than 10 people, part of a series of restrictions as the coronavirus outbreak worsens. “The limit will be implemented due to the recent prevalence of COVID spread resulting from small indoor gatherings,” Cuomo’s office stated on Nov. 11. “These gatherings have become a major cause of cluster activity across the state.”
[...] Seddio insisted, “[Scissura] and I and about 10 others got together.” But when told there were pictures of him at a party with at least two dozen other attendees, he sarcastically said, “That’s a great angle ... I can’t even imagine that.”
Lewis-Martin claimed only six or seven people were at the party by the time she arrived. When a photo of a large group including her was described to her, she said people had been coming and going in “shifts” and the picture may have been taken while the shifts overlapped. Asked if she was concerned about potential COVID spread at the party, Lewis-Martin said, “I have antibodies. I was already sick. I would have no concern about spreading or anything.”
Joseph Borelli, a Republican city councilman from Staten Island, said Democrats were being hypocritical after criticizing him for saying earlier that he would hold a large family gathering for Thanksgiving. He pointed to Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California who apologized for attending a lavish dinner without a mask, as another example. “Many of the most panicked purveyors of Covid craziness are actually members of the ‘good for thee, not for me’ set,” he said.
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COVID ignored at Brooklyn birthday party with NYC politicians (NYDN): Adherence to COVID regulations was checked at the door at a recent birthday party featuring a number of Kings County powerhouses. Photos of a celebration for Carlo Scissura, head of the powerful construction trade organization New York Building Congress, show revelers in close quarters without masks. Attendees included Deputy Brooklyn Borough President Ingrid Lewis-Martin and former Brooklyn Democratic Party Chairman Frank Seddio.
In one image, about two dozen people are seen mingling with one another in an ornate dining area while celebrating Scissura’s 50th. Only two of them are visibly wearing masks. In another shot, there are a dozen people crammed in the dining area, with just one person wearing a mask. Seddio can be seen in the background chatting with Lewis-Martin — neither of them with a mask.
[...] The party happened on Nov. 14, according to Lewis-Martin. Days earlier, Gov. Cuomo ordered New Yorkers to limit private gatherings to no more than 10 people, part of a series of restrictions as the coronavirus outbreak worsens. “The limit will be implemented due to the recent prevalence of COVID spread resulting from small indoor gatherings,” Cuomo’s office stated on Nov. 11. “These gatherings have become a major cause of cluster activity across the state.”
[...] Seddio insisted, “[Scissura] and I and about 10 others got together.” But when told there were pictures of him at a party with at least two dozen other attendees, he sarcastically said, “That’s a great angle ... I can’t even imagine that.”
Lewis-Martin claimed only six or seven people were at the party by the time she arrived. When a photo of a large group including her was described to her, she said people had been coming and going in “shifts” and the picture may have been taken while the shifts overlapped. Asked if she was concerned about potential COVID spread at the party, Lewis-Martin said, “I have antibodies. I was already sick. I would have no concern about spreading or anything.”