Eatery closed after hosting political gala

A New Jersey restaurant that hosted a political gala put on by a New York Republican club was ordered temporarily closed Friday over potential violations of coronavirus guidelines.

Photos and video posted on Twitter showed dozens of maskless partiers at the New York Young Republican Club event Thursday night in Jersey City, some of whom tweeted taunting messages to Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Among the attendees was U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, and conservative political activist James O’Keefe.

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democrat, said in an emailed statement that the event at the Maritime Parc restaurant in Liberty State Park was “an egregious violation” of state coronavirus guidelines and that he was ordering the restaurant temporarily closed.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, also a Democrat, has tightened restrictions on indoor gatherings recently in response to a surge in COVID-19 cases. Indoor dining is restricted to 25 percent of a restaurant’s capacity, and no indoor dining is allowed between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. Indoor gatherings are limited to 10 people.

Travelers from out of state are urged to quarantine for 14 days.

New York Young Republican Club President Gavin Wax scoffed at the criticism online, saying the group had done nothing wrong.

“We embrace life and living while you all cower in your pods worried about a disease with a 99 percent+ survivability rate,” he said in one tweet, referring to a pandemic that has killed more than 24,000 people in New York City alone and more than 17,000 in New Jersey.

“The left wants you to live in a world where socializing and being with friends and loved ones is a crime and a sin,” he wrote. “They claim isolation is a virtue. Its sick.”