The city’s Covid-19 safety crew shut down Anthony’s Ocean View Friday night after the waterfront Morris Cove restaurant was accused of hosting a large, indoor, densely packed, almost-entirely-mask-free party — just as coronavirus cases surge across the region and the state.
That Halloween-themed party occurred Thursday night, only a few hours after the city announced new economic restrictions and an indefinite delay to returning to in-person school because of a recent spike in Covid cases.
The party — which appears to have included little social distancing on the dance floor, the serving of alcohol without food, an indoor crowd in excess of 50 percent of the restaurant’s capacity, and very few masks in sight — was allegedly awash in violations of the governor’s Covid-19 public health guidelines for reopened businesses.
Sophie Sonnenfeld Photos
Assembled at the municipal office building at 200 Orange St. with fellow inspectors from the building, health, and fire marshal offices Friday, city Health Director Maritza Bond (pictured) said that she the city had received three complaints earlier in the day through the city Covid-19 task force’s hotline and email address about Thursday’s party.
Footage from the anonymously reported video of Anthony’s party.
One anonymous complaint included five videos of Thursday’s party.
Another complaint was lodged by a local university partner who warned about college students violating social distancing during the social event and at other venues around the city.
The third complaint was made by a concerned family member of an Anthony’s employee.
“To disregard individual’s lives, it is just a blatant disrespect to health,” Bond said. “This is not even a business issue anymore. This is an issue of not caring about people’s lives.”
This isn’t the first complaint the city has received about Anthony’s Ocean View engaging in risky behavior during the pandemic.
Bond said that the city has received numerous complaints about violations at Anthony’s. On three separate occasions, task force members or sanitarians responded to these complaints with visits to Anthony’s where they provided education and reviewed Covid-19 orders with employees.
“It is concerning that despite warnings, individuals and business owners want to choose to violate that rule,” she said.
Bond said the task force also offered several technical webinars to all businesses in New Haven about complying with Covid-19 restrictions. She added, “There are no exceptions to any business to violate any of the sector rules.”
“We are alarmed and concerned that the sector rules were completely ignored. People’s lives matter. This is not the time that we want to pretend that there is no virus. This virus is invisible and can spiral out of control very quickly.”
“No Recollection” That Party Took Place
Bond shows Anthony’s staff the videos of Thursday’s party.
Around 7 p.m., task force members arrived at Anthony’s to speak with staff members and to close it down.
Inside the lobby, Bond met with the restaurant’s owner, Anthony Delmonico, and reviewed all the violations from the videos.
According to Bond, Delmonico claimed to have “no recollection” of the party and that the videos did not look familiar. “If you’re the owner of the restaurant and you’re not aware of what your management team is doing, then that’s a concern and you need to address it with your management team because that means that they are disregarding your business,” she said.
Anthony Delmonico (left).
Delmonico (pictured at left), with his mask pulled below his nose, declined to comment to this reporter.
In order to reopen, Anthony’s must submit a corrective action plan to the city to address the violations and ensure they will remain in compliance with Covid-19 health and safety protocols.
Once the plan is submitted and approved, the task force will come back for a reinspection to make sure the plan has been into action.
Bond said this process could take between one and two weeks.
Additionally, if Anthony’s violates that corrective action plan again, Bond said, she will revoke their restaurant license.
If Anthony’s chooses to contest any violations, they can file an appeal through the Connecticut Department of Public Health. This would result in a hearing, which Bond said could delay Anthony’s reopening even longer.
“The message here is that we take these matters seriously. We are here to safeguard the public. This virus is not going away and we want to respect businesses, but businesses also have to respect the patrons that they serve,” the city health director said as the task force left Anthony’s to check in on other businesses throughout the East Shore.
“Halloweekend” Party Foiled
Anthony’s Friday night Halloween Party promoted on social media.
Building Official Jim Turcio was one of five city health, building, and fire safety inspectors assigned to inspect Anthony’s Covid-19 protocols in August. He said that in his two times visiting Anthony’s before, employees were very receptive.
Turcio said he’s been educating businesses on proper Covid-19 protocols for five months across the city.
“Now that you know the rules, go with it! I don’t want to wear a mask for the rest of my life.”
He added, “Nobody likes to see their establishment closed, but you know what, we’re out of the training phase, we’re into the enforcement phase now.”
According to Turcio (pictured), the task force caught wind of an “Anthony’s After Dark” Halloweekend party that University of Hartford students were planning to attend at 9 p.m. Friday night.
Bond said the police were going to monitor the area to ensure Anthony’s remained closed.
After visiting Anthony’s, the task force traveled to four other businesses to deliver verbal warnings where other similar parties were planned for Saturday night.
“It’s very critical for business owners to be aware we will be out all weekend and we will shut down individuals and establishments on the premise when we arrive,” Bond warned.
See below for a Facebook Live video of the task force shutting down Anthony’s, as well as video excerpts from Thursday night’s party.