SPEAK QUEASY
Covidiots are caught letting loose at a downtown bar despite tight restrictions on social gatherings — and a pandemic raging in the city outside
Aswanky Lower East Side nightclub appears to have violated social-distancing rules and hosted a secret “invite-only” party for affluent insiders, a source claims.
Omar’s La Boîte — which nightlife mogul and celebrity magnet Omar Hernandez had just debuted in January — reopened its doors to more than a dozen revelers with no masks in sight on Friday, May 1, a photo sent by a tipster appears to show. The tipster asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons.
“Omar’s is acting like they’re above the law . . . Like they’re the ‘21’ Club, with their wine cellar,” the source tells The Post, referring to the infamous former NYC speakeasy. “But this isn’t Prohibition — this is a pandemic.”
The general manager of Omar’s, Ivan Busheski, denies claims that there were any gettogethers being held at the Lower East Side hot spot. “We have never had any parties there. That’s not possible,” he says.
Hernandez’s outposts are famously known for attracting A-listers and boldface names. His Upper East Side restaurant Omar at Vaucluse is frequented by
Spike Lee, Robert De Niro, Gayle King and Donald Trump Jr.
At La Boîte, the gaggle of covidiots — who, according to the source, were mostly made up of “privileged business owners” who are “big in the downtown scene” — are pictured holding cocktails near a bar top littered with more drinks. Guests were allowed entry by reciting a “special code” at the door, the source says.
“I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I was fuming,” the source seethes. “Quite frankly, it’s disgusting.”
A partygoer defended their choice to breach social-distancing rules because they took an antibody test that suggested they are safe from infection, text messages obtained by The Post reveal.
But medical experts warn that the tests may not be accurate and could lead to a false sense of security.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has banned nonessential gatherings of all sizes and ordered all bars and restaurants to offer takeout service only. Violators can be fined up to $1,000.
Hernandez tells The Post, “We are looking into this distressing report. I’m sheltering outside the city, certainly wasn’t there, and I had no knowledge of any social gathering on-site.”
This isn’t the first time one of his joints has come under fire. In June, the Vaucluse location was slapped with a lawsuit from the apartment building it occupies the first floor of, the Beekman, whose owners wanted the glitzy outfit shuttered due to noise complaints.
The shaken-up source hopes La Boîte is held accountable too.
“The establishment itself is really f - - ked up for doing this,” the source says. It could be “prolonging the process of getting back to our lives, and we’re going to be prisoners forever because of situations like this.”