Jersey City Officials Shut Restaurant After Republican Event

JERSEY CITY, NJ — After an annual Young Republican event was reportedly held Thursday night in a Jersey City restaurant, the city says it has temporarily shut the waterfront venue to investigate possible coronavirus violations.

[UPDATE: Murphy Calls Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz A 'Putz' For Attending Jersey City Event]

Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop said in a statement Friday regarding the event, believed to have been held at Maritime Parc restaurant in Liberty State Park: "In Jersey City we take COVID enforcement very seriously, and this event appears to be an egregious violation of the governor’s executive orders, including capacity limitations and mandatory mask wearing ... and has put Jersey City and countless others at serious risk."

Fulop posted a statement on Twitter that Maritime Parc was shut until further notice.

He added in his statement, "As we further investigate the matter, the establishment has been ordered closed until such time as they submit to the Jersey City Health and Human Services Department a written operational plan describing how they’re going to comply with capacity mandates and mask wearing, and the plan will be subsequently reviewed by the city and approved.”

The event made news Thursday night after attendees tweeted apparent taunts at New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Twitter, implying the event was in New York City and challenging Cuomo to "come and get me" for possibly violating the limit on indoor gatherings amid the coronavirus crisis.

Republican Joel Fischer sent a tweet Thursday stating, "Hey @NYGovCuomo, I'm at the @NYYRC with [Florida Rep.] @mattgaetz. Come and get me."

However, it became apparent that the group was actually celebrating across the river.

A Patch reporter tweeted an invitation that showed the gathering was being held in Jersey City and not in New York City after all.

Jersey City Municipal Prosecutor Jake Hudnut followed up on Friday by tweeting that he would do something about the matter.

"Pssst...you are in #JerseyCity - not New York," Hudnut tweeted to Fischer. "Gov. Cuomo may not be able to 'come and get' you. But I can."

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Hudnut later tweeted, "We will follow up w/ [Liberty State Park] Police today. Any summonses will be prosecuted fully in #JerseyCity’s courts."

Then, Fulop responded on Twitter, "So brave of you to tweet at @NYGovCuomo after sneaking across the river to hide in NJ in order to hold a party that you wouldn’t disclose the location of. Nevertheless JC law enforcement will be visiting the [restaurant] this AM + will follow appropriate steps within laws of NJ."

New Jersey has an indoor gathering limit of 10 people — but at restaurants, the limit is 25 percent of the indoor capacity, with other rules. Read more here.

Phone calls to the restaurant Friday went unanswered, but this story will be updated with comment from the venue if it responds.

Read more here: Murphy Calls Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz A 'Putz' For Attending Jersey City Event

Read more here: NY Republicans Move Unmasked Gala To NJ, Prompting Investigation

New York City Patch Reporter Nick Garber contributed reporting to this story.

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