Wednesday, 8 July 2020
www.TheObserver.com
Vol. CXXXIII, No. 9
MORE ON THE INSIDE • Chief King reinstitutes the Kearny Police Department’s Bicycle Squad ... at no cost. See Page 4
BELLEVILLE • BLOOMFIELD • EAST NEWARK • HARRISON • KEARNY • LYNDHURST • NORTH ARLINGTON • NUTLEY
MURPHY’S LAW: YOU CAN’T OPEN! Restaurants like Lassoni, North Arlington, seen here, remain empty on the inside because of the governor’s decision to rescind the original July 2 reopening. But not all eateries are fortunate to have outdoor dining as Lassoni does.
Local restaurateurs livid with gov’s decision to rescind July 2 indoor reopening By Kevin Canessa kc@theobserver.com
R
obert DaSilva, a resident of Kearny and the owner of NA’s Centanni Ristorante, is furious with Gov. Philip D. Murphy. And just a few weeks ago, he wasn’t. His anger with the state’s CEO
hinges on the governor’s decision to rescind his own order that would have allowed restaurants around the state to begin indoor operations at 25% of capacity on July 2. But after reports surfaced that several Jersey Shore restaurants weren’t following social-distancing guidelines and were operating at a much higher capacity than we allowed, Murphy made an
announcement that the July 2 soft re-open date — that so many restaurateurs were longing for for months — was made too soon. And so for thousands of restaurant owners, statewide, it was back to the drawing board again. But it was different this time, because so many, after hearing the July 2 date, began to make preparations for the reopening.
And that’s got DaSilva up in arms. Understandably. “Because places that have outdoor dining — which I don’t — couldn’t follow the rules, it screwed us all,” DaSilva said. “There are a lot of places that can do outdoor dining. I can’t because of my location. They See DINING, Page 19
Have you done your civic duties? Vote
MY2020CENSUS.GOV Hudson County received a grant from the Dept. of State Complete Count Commission.
Complete the 2020 Census
2020 CENSUS