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More than 200 people stood side by side shouting as two men clashed in the center of a warehouse in the Bronx. Some people were hanging over the barricades, social media showed, craning their necks for a better view. When one man knocked out the other, the crowd erupted into a thunderous roar.
Amateur fighting would have been illegal before the pandemic, but with coronavirus cases soaring in the city, it risked being a dangerous underground event.
Sheriff’s deputies dismantled the unlicensed fight club known as “Rumble in the Bronx” at around 11:15 pm Saturday. Many of those crowded inside were drinking, smoking hookah and not wearing masks, authorities said.
Club chief Michael J. Roman, 32, and nine others were arrested and charged with illegal assembly, violations of the health and alcohol code and participation in a prohibited combat sport. They were also each fined $ 15,000.
Days earlier, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo had tightened restrictions in the state in a bid to control the spread of the virus. Private indoor and outdoor gatherings statewide are now limited to 10 people, and gyms, bars and restaurants must close every night at 10 p.m.
“Bars, restaurants, gyms, house parties, that’s where it comes from, mostly,” Cuomo said on a conference call with reporters last week.
Hours before dismantling the fight club, sheriff’s deputies also disbanded a party in Brooklyn with nearly 200 guests and another in Manhattan with more than 200 people.
Kevin O’Hanlon, owner of Rogue Space, which hosted the event in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, expressed regret in a phone interview on Sunday.
“We want to be a positive influence in the community, and it’s not something I’m proud of at all,” he said.
Event organizers did not respond to requests for comment or could not be contacted immediately on Sunday.
For months, New York, which had been one of the first epicenter of the coronavirus, had largely succeeded in containing the virus. Although cases and hospitalizations are lower than they were in the spring, officials said they would consider further restrictions to stop a second wave.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Twitter on Sunday that there were 937 new cases of the virus and 117 people had been hospitalized. The seven-day average of positive test results was 2.57%, slightly lower than last week.
Speaking at Brown Memorial Baptist Church in Brooklyn on Sunday, De Blasio reminded New Yorkers that as the holidays approach, the virus – which has killed more than 24,000 city residents – remains a very serious threat. serious.
“We are facing a challenge again, but we cannot have amnesia,” said de Blasio. “A second wave is falling on us, but we can stop it.”
Mr. de Blasio and Mr. Cuomo have discouraged travel and gatherings during the holidays.
A spokesperson for the mayor thanked the sheriff’s office, but said New Yorkers should do their part.
“No one is going to beat Covid-19 for us,” spokesman Mitch Schwartz said. “We have to do it ourselves – and that starts by reminding us that our choices matter.”
It is not known if there has been an increase in the number of illegal gatherings held in the city since the start of the pandemic. Sheriff Joseph Fucito said such events have been around for a long time.
Since July, his office has closed at least one major illegal event every weekend. The pandemic, he said, has amplified the problem.
His office learned about the gatherings on the Internet and through counseling.
At 3:15 a.m. on Saturday, authorities found 180 people attending a party at Hearts of Love on Liberty Avenue in Brooklyn. Many did not have face masks and drank and smoked hookah, authorities said.
Three men, including a security guard, were accused of violating an emergency decree. The guard, Julio Soto, 35, was also charged with unauthorized storage of alcohol.
Two hours earlier in Manhattan, the Sheriff’s Office closed the party on West 26th Street at Rogue Space. MPs saw tables, chairs and velvet ropes being unloaded from a truck on Friday evening. At 1 a.m., they found 205 guests crammed into the maskless space, officials said.
Ahmad McLure, 36, a promoter, and three others have been charged with violating the governor’s emergency order and alcohol violations.
Mr. O’Hanlon, the owner of the hall, said the space was 3,000 square feet. He said guests were required to wear masks in the building and he reminded people to wear their masks properly.
The rally was supposed to be limited to 50 people and smoking was prohibited, Mr O’Hanlon said, but “then everything broke down”.
Mr O’Hanlon said he had received numerous requests for social events recently, but was hesitant to accept. He said business has been slow and acknowledged the financial pressure he and other site owners have felt since the start of the pandemic.
But because of the raid, he said, he didn’t make any money from the event.
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