‘AUTONOMOUS ZONE’

Hundreds Rally Outside Staten Island Bar That Declared ‘Autonomy’ From Pandemic Rules

Mac's Public House is inside an orange zone, which, under New York state rules, means that indoor dining is banned.

Hundreds of protesters stopped traffic outside a Staten Island bar Wednesday night to show support after one of its owners was arrested after declaring the bar an “autonomous zone” that was free from pandemic restrictions. Mac's Public House is inside an orange zone, which, under New York state rules, means that indoor dining is banned. On Tuesday night, the bar's general manager, Danny Presti, was arrested for defying those rules. But the bar’s customers are furious, and hundreds gathered outside Wednesday night to show their support for the bar and its defiant owners. According to CBS New York, protesters stood in a packed crowd and waved American flags. One of them, named Kevin Smith, told the network: “There’s people doing heroin and defecating on the subway, and I think that spreads the virus a lot more than some people having a drink on Staten Island.”