SI’s Indoor Dining Fight Exposes Borough’s North-South Divide

By: Clifford Michel

Sal Finocchiaro, the proprietor of Palermo Pizzeria, located in southern Staten Island’s state-designated “orange zone,” has never met Danny Presti, owner of Mac’s Public House.

But he’s taking his cues from Presti, who’s spurred headlines for his defiance of the state order prohibiting indoor dining in the high-COVID-19 area.

“I literally sent a security guard to our front door,” Finocchiaro told THE CITY Friday. “Last night, the sheriff came and I closed the gates on him, I didn’t let him in.”

Five miles away from Mac’s, the owners of another “Publick House” say they’re frustrated with a lack of government support. Located in the north of Staten Island, it’s in an area where indoor dining is still allowed.

But unlike Finocchiaro and Presti, the owners of O’Henry’s Publick House have no plans to flout regulations if Staten Island’s northern half also has its restaurants shut down. Under new rules detailed Monday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the state will close indoor dining in the city if hospitals near capacity.

And instead of leading rallies like Presti, O’Henry’s has been preparing meals to feed homeless Staten Islanders through Project Hospitality.

“We don’t want to be mistaken for folks who are operating in that way,” said Bobby Digi Olisa, a co-owner of O’Henry’s Publick House, a British-style pub.

The differing approaches reflect a split between the Staten Island’s northern and southern halves that traditionally has centered on electoral politics and has extended in recent months to the reaction to COVID-related mask rules and business restrictions.

The Mac’s controversy even spurred a bit on “Saturday Night Live” by Staten Island native Pete Davidson, who mocked the protests outside the bar, which he said made borough residents “look like babies.”

But for those on both sides of the split, there’s agreement the fight over indoor dining, with lives and livelihoods at stake, is no joke.

 

‘I Pull Out a Table’

Finocchiaro told THE CITY he requested $150,000 from the Small Business Administration earlier in the year but only received $28,000. He says indoor dining is important to keeping his pizzeria afloat.

Despite the uptick in COVID-19 cases, Finocchiaro said that he’s never heard from an New York City contact tracer — suggesting to him there’s been no sign of the virus at his establishment.

And while he doesn’t have tables set up, whenever someone asks to eat inside, he’s happy to oblige.

“I always have customers inside. If someone says ‘Sal, can I eat in here?’ I pull out a table, put the four chairs in and they’re sitting down,” said Finocchiaro.

Olisa and his partner also have struggled to stay afloat. They said they spent thousands of dollars on tents for outdoor eating, and retrofitted the pub for safer indoor dining. They’re even walking meals over to customers at a nearby beer hall.

(TheCity.nyc)

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