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Gossip Bar on 9th Avenue (between 49/50th St) is the first Hell’s Kitchen bar to be closed by New York State’s multi-agency task force.
On Monday evening, investigators watched “twelve patrons congregating, lingering and consuming alcohol on the sidewalk in front of the premises well past New York City’s 11 p.m. curfew for outside service, with the owner and several patrons not wearing facial coverings.”
Gossip is a repeat offender, with two previous charges in early July for violations of the Governor’s Executive Orders.
Governor Cuomo said: “Local governments need to do their job, but the state is supplementing their efforts in every way we can. Noncompliance will lead us right back right where we were just a few months ago — so we must continue to crack down on the bad actors who violate the law and risk everyone’s health and safety.”
In mid-June, a picture of Gossip Bar patrons featured in a spoof post on The Onion website about Dallas, under the headline “City Enters Phase 4 of Pretending Coronavirus Over.”
The bar was one of the first in the area to take space in the road on 9th Avenue and its Teddy Bear with a mask on has become a familiar Hell’s Kitchen fixture (which has been photographed and featured around the world to show New York’s resilience and humor during the pandemic).
We have asked Gossip and other local bar owners for a comment and will update this story.