Jersey City police visited a popular bar and restaurant twice over the weekend and issued summonses after finding hundreds of people inside without masks, Chief Prosecutor Jake Hudnut announced.
Hudnut said The Factory Restaurant and Lounge has “regularly violated COVID-19 restrictions throughout the pandemic,” and posted a video to Twitter showing dozens of people inside the Communipaw Avenue business on Sunday not socially distancing themselves or wearing masks.
Hudnut said police responded to a call of a disorderly group fighting outside the restaurant on Saturday night and noticed that people were inside. Indoor dining has been prohibited in New Jersey since March.
The following night, members of the city’s Quality of Life police unit received a tip that a party was being held inside The Factory. When officers returned to the venue they found hundreds of people inside with a DJ, Hudnut said.
Police issued summonses to The Factory owner Robert Paulino on both nights. Hudnut, who heads the city’s Quality of Life Task Force said the citations carry the possibility of jail time and community service, as well as up to $2,000 in fines each.
Paulino could not be reached for comment. A bartender who answered the phone at the restaurant on Monday said The Factory is being singled out while restaurants and bars in Downtown Jersey City that have been over capacity during the pandemic.
Hudnut added that he is requesting that the city’s Board of Alcohol Beverage Control file administrative violations against The Factory, which would result in the temporary or permanent loss of the venue’s liquor license. Hudnut also said he will ask the city’s Division of Commerce to deny any application for expanded outdoor dining that The Factory files.
“We will aggressively prosecute any business that places profit over public health,” Hudnut said Monday afternoon.
Citing similar scenes at bars and restaurants around the state — especially at the Jersey Shore — Gov. Phil Murphy scrapped the state’s plan to allow indoor dining to resume starting Thursday.
“Unfortunately, the national situation, compounded by instances of knucklehead behavior here at home, are requiring us to hit pause on the restart of indoor dining for the foreseeable future,” Murphy said.
Hudnut, meanwhile, encouraged Jersey City residents to report businesses not adhering to COVID-19 restrictions by emailing photos of the violations to prosecutor@jcnj.org.
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June 30, 2020 at 11:36AM
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Popular Jersey City restaurant and lounge cited for having hundreds inside without masks, official says - nj.com
"Factory" - Google News
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