‘Cuo targeted’ SI tavern
Pub: It’ s retaliation for ‘reopen’ lawsuit
Something smells rotten on Staten Island, and it’s not the old dump.
Residents believe the stench is coming from Albany.
The borough’s beloved Joyce’s Tavern — which has a heavy FDNY constituency — lost its liquor license following a “surprise, random” visit by State Liquor Authority inspectors during a 9/11 fundraiser on Sept. 11.
The Irish pub’s supporters allege that the raid was a political hit job and say a video proves the bar and grill did nothing wrong and could exonerate it as soon as this coming week.
Tavern backers believe the ill-timed raid was retaliation by Gov. Cuomo for a lawsuit filed days earlier against him, the city and Mayor de Blasio, by Joyce’s and other crippled island restaurants demanding they be allowed to reopen.
About 900 islanders outraged by the SLA takedown formed a GoFundMe defense fund that collected $66,000 in less than a week.
“Resistance to thugs like Cuomo and Communists like de Blasio is vital if we are to live in freedom,” said Frederick Martin, who chipped in $100.
The borough’s lawmakers have jumped into the fray.
State Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-SI) has been working behind the scenes to get the Cuomo administration to “correct the mistake made by the SLA,” sources said.
Lanza told The Post on Friday, “This restaurant, for all intents and purposes, is closed down. It breaks my heart that government can’t fix a clear mistake.”
City Councilman Joe Borelli blasted Cuomo and de Blasio on Twitter for siccing the SLA on the 54-yearold gin mill. The Republican lawmaker, known for his sharp tweets attacking both Dems, noted the raid came a day after he held a well-publicized book-signing on Joyce’s patio.
“What a coincidence,” he said, that on the “very next night, the SLA goons come in for a surprise random inspection.”
The state denied the action was motivated by Cuomo’s revenge. An SLA spokesman told Joyce’s attorneys that the tavern was one of more than 1,300 visited by inspectors that day.