Lockdown-Defying Speakeasies Cropping Up Across Manhattan

As New Yorkers grow weary of the ongoing lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic, speakeasies have been cropping up in Manhattan according to Page Six.

Discreet patrons are filling the backs of bars, pizza parlors and even pet stores in order to enjoy libations and delicacies with like-minded people flouting quarantine.

Page Six is told that a famous Upper East Side bar and lounge as well as a trendy downtown hotel have been opening up in spite of the coronavirus lockdown — but strictly for discreet friends of the owners and managers.

Meanwhile, the New York Post revealed this week that the Lower East Side’s Omar’s La Boîte hosted a small invite-only party in early May. “I know at least five people who were at [the hotel bar] on Monday night,” said a source. “I called one of them and said, ‘I heard you were at [said hotel bar] last night, and she sounded shocked. She said, ‘How did you know!’” –Page Six

After the Post published a picture of La Boîte which appeared to show over “a dozen revelers with no masks in sight,” the manager of the club denied that there had been any parties. Owner Omar Hernandez, meanwhile, said “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.”

Just how long do our elected officials think people are going to remain compliant?