NYC restaurant owner sends message to Cuomo with video of dinner in snowstorm
Sacramone says he's gone 'above and beyond' to make his restaurant safe
A restaurant owner mocked New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo with an Instagram video showing him and his staff eating outside in a blizzard, as a criticism of the latest coronavirus lockdown.
“The message is that it’s almost impossible to dine out in New York City in the winter months that we have here. You know, this is not Florida. It’s not California that we have beautiful days, great evenings that we could dine out. It just doesn’t work in New York. That was the message we were trying to get across," Trattoria L’incontro owner Rocco Sacramone told "Fox & Friends."
After approximately 30 seconds, the pizza had "icicles, the mozzarella became hard. And the wine froze as hard as rocks."
“Well, we have a couple of the neighbors actually that were walking their dog, and then they saw us sitting outside. 'Are you guys going to have a table for us now?' I said no, no, no. We are just making an Instagram video," Sacramone said.
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Outdoor dining was suspended Wednesday afternoon after the Department of Sanitation issued a "snow alert" ahead of an impending winter storm that may dump more than eight inches on the city.
It comes one day after New York City community members gathered alongside struggling restaurant workers and owners in Manhattan on Tuesday morning to plead for financial relief from the coronavirus pandemic.
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Sacramone said he went “above and beyond” to make his restaurant safe.
"Well, we actually got this filtration system that kills the SARS, all the viruses. I mean, we went above and beyond. I had a tent outside, also. I took it down because I know that it was not going to work through the winter," Sacramone said.
"The message is, 'let’s open up safely.' Safety comes first. But let’s make smart decisions before we just shut everything down," he added.
Cuomo warned residents Monday they should prepare for the possibility of another shutdown if rising COVID-19 cases put hospitals at risk of exceeding their capacity.
Cuomo addressed the state’s plan to combat the spread of coronavirus amid intense criticism of his office’s decision to temporarily ban indoor dining in New York City. The governor defended his decision, arguing operational restrictions are “not the real problem” for business owners and other state residents.