Waretown Bar Owner: NJ COVID Rules A 'Nuclear Bomb' On Industry
WARETOWN, NJ — Unlike his infamous heckling interaction with former Gov. Chris Christie, state officials haven't told Jim Keady to "sit down and shut up." But the Lighthouse Tavern owner — known for his activism — has made it clear he doesn't like New Jersey's most recent coronavirus restriction on bars and restaurants.
Gov. Phil Murphy imposed a new restriction Thursday for restaurants, bars and entertainment venues — no indoor dining or drinking from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Read more: Gov. Murphy Clarifies New Rules For NJ Indoor Dining, Barbers
For a place like Lighthouse Tavern that's open late, that can certainly affect business. Keady has expressed his concerns to state officials.
"The governor has talked about taking action during this COVID crisis by using 'surgical strikes' with regard to his public policy," he wrote in a Facebook post for the Lighthouse Tavern. "His current course of action of removing bar stools at ALL bars around the state is not a surgical strike, it is a nuclear bomb."
Keady spoke to one of Murphy's top aides this week about the executive order. Murphy cited an article in the journal Nature that stated about 80 percent of new infections in the early months of the pandemic coming from indoor venues such as restaurants and gyms.
Nature published the study Tuesday that examined 10 American cities from March to May.
Keady told Murphy's aide that it's a fair point for discussion. But he wants to know how many super spreader events officials can trace back to bars and restaurants in the past 60 days. Keady is awaiting an answer.
"I want to be VERY clear," Keady wrote on social media. "I believe in science. I believe in listening to the epidemiologists. I want to support government policies that will save lives and crush the pandemic. I also am aware that there are some actors in the hospitality industry who have not followed the suggested polices and they have put lives at risk. They need to be named and shamed and punished accordingly."
Keady has long been involved in social issues, researching and bringing attention to Nike sweatshops in the late 90s and 2000s. After a decade of activism, Indonesian Nike supplier PT Nikomas Gemiland repaid 4,437 production workers for 600,000 hours of unpaid labor.
He also served on Asbury Park City Council in the mid-2000s. In the past five years, he has run for State Assembly and Congress.
And in 2014, he interrupted a press conference in which Christie returned to Belmar two years after Superstorm Sandy. Keady criticized Christie for the pace of recovery efforts. The governor told Keady to "sit down and shut up." Read more: WATCH: Christie To Superstorm Sandy Critic In Monmouth County: 'Sit Down And Shut Up'
Even with a different governor, Keady isn't ready to do that. And he has a question for Murphy.
"What specific federal relief are you lobbying for," he said, "that will help us survive as we bar and restaurant owners make the necessary sacrifice for the common good of public health?"
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This article originally appeared on the Lacey Patch
