City sheriffs on Tuesday night shut down a Staten Island bar that declared itself an “autonomous zone” and continued to serve indoor customers in defiance of COVID-19 restrictions.
The raid at Mac’s Public House also resulted in the arrest of its co-owner, Danny Presti, who was not cooperative as officers issued the pub several violations for flouting city and health health orders, sources said.
Dozens of angry supporters of the bar descended upon the establishment as officers with the New York City Sheriff’s Department executed their order.
“Free Keith McAnerney now,” the crowd chanted, referring to the bar’s other owner — though it did not appear he was there at the time.
The angry crowd also yelled, “we’re going to defund the Sheriffs!” and vented about Gov. Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Presti’s lawyer, Lou Gelormino, told The Post that the situation started out calm, but culminated with three summonses.
“They [sheriff’s] were respectful and we were very respectful, and I intervened and inside we were going to be cooperative,” Gelormino said.
“Then 10 minutes later outside I started filming and that’s when they asked me for my ID, and they gave me three summonses as his attorney.”
Presti is expected to be released from the sheriff’s office with a desk appearance ticket, sources said. It’s unclear what charges he faces.
Mac’s Public House, in a state-designated coronavirus hot spot, has garnered headlines for refusing to stop indoor services as dictated by restrictions that went into effect last Wednesday.
The bar has also been slapped with thousands of dollars in fines and had its state liquor license yanked.
