NYC store-owner defiantly opens up shop despite coronavirus lockdown
One defiant NYC business owner — who’s been deemed “non-essential” during the pandemic — has a message to New York: “I’m opening my doors come hell or high water.”
Eliot Rabin, whose Upper East Side boutique, Peter Elliot, is known for high-end men’s and boys apparel, refuses to follow a state order closing retail business not considered essential. He insists that his $85 pocket squares and $15,000 suits are part of the fabric of New York City: “Why is a liquor store essential and I’m not?” Rabin told The Post.
He admitted that many of the customers who can afford his wares have fled the city for vacation homes, but he’s here to provide “emotional essential support” for the ones still in town. The retailer is also offering them what he jokingly calls “internal vaccinations: Chivas Regal, Kentucky bourbon — have a nip and you’ll feel better.”
Story continues below advertisement
Elliot, owner of the upper east side clothing store “Peter Elliot”, has decided to disobey the governor by reopening his doors to customers.
Rabin added that it’s also the only course of action for saving his business.
“We’ve applied for every loan, every break … to no avail. We got bubkes,” said the 78-year-old Army vet who once ran on the GOP congressional ticket to defeat Carolyn Maloney in the 12th district. He noted that he had to cut 12 members of his 21-person staff, some of whom have been with him for 35 years.
Opening his doors to reveal a rainbow of pastel shirts and technicolor ties, he said, represents something else as well. “You need to give people a degree of normalcy in such an abnormal time.”
At least one happy customer walked away Friday with a $200 polka dot tie. “I’m a small business owner too, but I can’t send people a drill in the mail [to do their own teeth],” said cosmetic dentist Steven Davidowitz, who’s been shopping at the store for 10 years. “[Rabin’s] customers like to feel things, see things, and have that personal interaction with his amazing staff. It’s like a family.”
Rabin said a handful of customers have trickled in since Wednesday’s re-opening, and he’s fielding requests for suits for future events like bar mitzvahs and weddings. “Some [clients] ask, ‘Do you think you’ll get in trouble?’” he said. “If I do get in trouble, it will be for the right reasons. What are they going to do? Yell and scream at me? Fine me $500? It would be worth it, for me to be able to open my mouth and say this is not equitable. If they try to arrest me, I’ll say, ‘Am I in a police state now?’ They’re not going to arrest me.”
Though he’s not worried about catching the coronavirus, Rabin, who first opened his doors in 1977, said he’s taking precautions: “I spray my Lysol like I spray my Chanel cologne for men.” He only has two employees — one at the register, one on the floor — in the store at a time and is expecting a shipment of masks from Italy to hand out to customers, whom he will limit in the store at any given time. “We’ll never put anyone in danger, ever.”
He added that he’s not worried about the consequences of being open, only the consequences for staying shut.
“I’m fighting for the soul of my company and my people. I’m doing what I think is right to protect my business and employees from this disaster,” Rabin said, noting that the long-time shoe repair shop across the street from his store packed up for good last month. “I hope everyone comes back, but I know they won’t. I’m doing the common sense thing to protect my business.”
Though he’s not worried about catching the coronavirus, Rabin, who first opened his doors in 1977, said he’s taking precautions: “I spray my Lysol like I spray my Chanel cologne for men.” He only has two employees — one at the register, one on the floor — in the store at a time and is expecting a shipment of masks from Italy to hand out to customers, whom he will limit in the store at any given time. “We’ll never put anyone in danger, ever.”
He added that he’s not worried about the consequences of being open, only the consequences for staying shut.
“I’m fighting for the soul of my company and my people. I’m doing what I think is right to protect my business and employees from this disaster,” Rabin said, noting that the long-time shoe repair shop across the street from his store packed up for good last month. “I hope everyone comes back, but I know they won’t. I’m doing the common sense thing to protect my business.”
Please take a moment to consider this. Now, more than ever, people are reading Geller Report for news they won't get anywhere else. But advertising revenues have all but disappeared. Google Adsense is the online advertising monopoly and they have banned us. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have blocked and shadow-banned our accounts. But we won't put up a paywall. Because never has the free world needed independent journalism more.
Everyone who reads our reporting knows the Geller Report covers the news the media won't. We cannot do our ground-breaking report without your support. We must continue to report on the global jihad and the left's war on freedom. Our readers’ contributions make that possible.
Geller Report's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our work is critical in the fight for freedom and because it is your fight, too.
Quick note: We cannot do this without your support. Fact. Our work is made possible by you
and only you. We receive no grants, government handouts, or major funding.Tech giants are shutting us down. You know this. Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Adsense, Pinterest permanently
banned us. Facebook, Google search et al have shadow-banned, suspended and deleted us from your news feeds.
They are disappearing us. But we are here.
Subscribe to Geller Report newsletter here— it’s free and it’s essential NOW when informed decision making and opinion is essential to America's survival.
Share our posts on your social channels and with your email contacts. Fight the great fight.
Remember, YOU make the work possible. If you can, please contribute to Geller Report.
Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spammy or unhelpful, click the - symbol under the comment to let us know. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
If you would like to join the conversation, but don't have an account, you can sign up for one right here.
If you are having problems leaving a comment, it's likely because you are using an ad blocker, something that break ads, of course, but also breaks the comments section of our site. If you are using an ad blocker, and would like to share your thoughts, please disable your ad blocker. We look forward to seeing your comments below.
00votes
Article Rating
28 Comments
Oldest
NewestMost Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Halal Bacon
3 years ago
apparently rape, murder and all sorts of crime are essential services – at least the released criminals think so
mackykam
3 years ago
every worker is essential…to his family’s well being.
Not according to DeBlazio!
Muslims matter and you don’t. DeBlazio wil be passing out 500,00 free Ramadan meals at taxpayer expense while claiming the city needs BILLIONS for a bail out. Schools, colleges and univeristies are not “essential” too and closed.
That’s a dim view, Joe. Alcoholics are more resourceful than most folks realize. It’s probably safer to just keep the hooch flowing so people aren’t making bathtub gin. All businesses are essential. Some businesses are just “more” essential- to socialists.
Delirium tremens is rarely lethal. Typically, it commences three days after no alcohol and lasts for three days. Although, not very pleasant, it very rarely kills anyone.
Don’t know if anyone will read this 10 days later. but the local news had a bit about the alcoholics flocking to the ER if they couldn’t get their drink. It would overwhelm the hospital. I guess there are far more alcoholics than we would think.
Not totally. They did have a doctor commenting on that.
I think there are more drinking alcoholics than you want to acknowledge. Maybe the liquor stores should be shut down in order to dry everyone out!
A can get a “Decision Tree Physician” to say practically anything.
felix1999
3 years ago
Selling weed, alcohol and lottery tickets are “essential” too.
Communists are anti-capitalistic, godless and centered on pushing their ideology.
Releasing CRIMNALS so CRIME can go up is “essential” too.
Catering to Muslims and giving them free tax dollar funded halal food for Ramandan is “essential” even though DeBalios has misplaced millions and needs a few billion for a bailout. Try to make sense out of that.
Synagogues and churches need to be closed too! They aren’t “essential”.
Hatred of women and demand that we understand that we don’t own ourselves will continue, have no fear. After all, “we” must pay for losing the “Garden of Eden”!
What deBastard, Fredo and Booberg have done to NY is beyond words. To witness the demise of “the capitol of the world” and the USA, amid this demented, seared leftist, godless leadership is preposterous. We have addicts in office who use the city budget to fund their habit just like the scum crackhead traitor fake president!!! All of the same ilk. Just watch them carefully. You’ll see it for yourself. Where do you run?
The satanists, communists, muscums: all one and the same. Fredo funds the muscum training camp in upstate NY known as “Islamburg, NY” and the police have been ordered to “stand down”. Thousands of these training camps they call mosques have been allowed to flourish under pretense. Traitors, crooks, murderers, rapists and thieves abound. My prayer: “Father GOD, may all those who plot evil and do evil, hang in their own plot as Haman did in the OT, and may Your gracious hand of healing, protection, provision and ability rest on Your people, we, the called out ones worldwide, in JESUS’ name, Amen.”
When the people of the true and living GOD, the GOD of Abraham, Issac and Jacob Who loved us so much that HE would condescend to become His own perfect sacrifice in the person of JESUS, THE CHRIST for our sakes and sins, humble ourselves and REPENT of our sin-filled, self-indulgence, then would Our GOD hear from Heaven and will heal our land. May we return to our Judeo-Christian roots, prosper and be in health, obey Our LORD and thrive, and may our enemies be scattered, in JESUS’ name, Amen and Amen.
They should be dismantled since they are an instrument of war! And those that do not like it deported!
Andrew
3 years ago
Good for Mr Rabin. Most Americans have become good little commies during this BS Red Chinese virus hysteria. Snitching on neighbors was a common practice in the East bloc nations during the cold war. It is easy to blame amoral corrupt politicians like Cuomo and DeBlasio for the gestapo police tactics now prevalent in NY and elsewhere. Truth is police and civilians are all loyal little brown shirts during the suicidal lock down mania.
felix1999
3 years ago
DeBlazio LOVES Muslims -especially Linda Sarsour, the cockroach.
Bless his soul. This attitude frightens me more than any virus or shutdown. Civil disobedience for survival’s sake can’t be awesome, even if becomes necessary. I think this well-meaning fellow is probably going to get arrested.
Australia closed down just about everything, doubled unemployment benefits and gave employers $750 a week to keep employees on their books. The nation shut its borders. Australian states shut their borders. The state premiers and the prime minister, of different political parties, formed a national cabinet which met daily as in wartime. The result is new cases are down to almost nothing and the economy is getting ready to open up again. Here are the figures: So far, COVID-19 has claimed 83 Australian lives, at a median age of 79 (which is around the same as all-cause life expectancy). Australia has 264 cases per million population and 3 per million deaths, while the US has 3036 cases per million, with 171 deaths per million. Go figure. “Socialism” rules! (by the way, the Australian government is right wing).
It is the conflict of our age, yet no one dares talk about it. The true story of the Islamic Supremacist war on free speech as told by those on the front lines fighting for our First Amendment rights,
.
Pamela Geller tells her own story of how she became one of the world's foremost activists for the freedom of speech,
individual rights, and equality of rights for all. "It's my story, it's what happens when someone fights for freedom in America today,"
Geller explained.
Today Islamic supremacists are demanding more accommodation of Islamic principles
and practices than ever, and daily growing more aggressive in eroding our freedoms – with politically
correct public officials only too happy..
Popular conservative blogger Pamela Geller and New York Times bestselling author
Robert Spencer sound a wake-up call for Americans to stop the Obama administration from limiting our
hard-won...
The Ground Zero Mosque: The Second Wave of the 9/11 Attacks is a groundbreaking documentary on the controversy
over the planned Islamic supremacist mega-mosque at Ground Zero.
Tech giants are shutting us down. You know this. Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Adsense, Pinterest permanently banned us. Facebook, Google search et al have shadow-banned, suspended and deleted us from your news feeds. They are disappearing us. But we are here.
