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The Stage temporarily shut down by the Erie County Department of Health

Poloncarz says the establishment in Clarence was shut down Tuesday night for having more people than allowed under current New York State guidelines.
Credit: WGRZ
Erie County Department of Health

BUFFALO, N.Y. — During a press conference Wednesday afternoon Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced that another local establishment was temporarily shut down for not following COVID-19 guidelines.

Poloncarz says the establishment in Clarence was shut down Tuesday night for having more people than allowed under current New York State guidelines. Poloncarz went on to say the owner of The Stage is working with the Erie County Department of Health to reopen the location as long as they follow the proper guidelines.

"They agree they will not hold the events that they did in the past. We'll be checking," Poloncarz said. "When you're supposed to have 50 and you have 150 to 200 people in an enclosed area, or tight area, without masks, that's how you pass COVID-19 around."

Erie County Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein says the majority of the people at The Stage were outside drinking beer and eating hot dogs in the parking lot. She estimates there were about 150 people in the parking lot. There were also people indoors.

The county executive says Erie County has a policy where the first violation will not result in closure, unless the offense is egregious. Poloncarz says under the general standard a business will get a violation and possibly a fine. A business will not be closed until the second violation.

"We want bar owners and restaurateurs to know this is the law," Poloncarz said. "We don't want to shut you down."

The Stage issued a statement on its official Facebook page about the incident:

"Today was a bad day for us. We were closed by the Health department. We would like to Thank Everyone for all the Support we have gotten over the past few months. We feel we are doing everything possible to obey the Social distancing rules. We are very saddened to have been closed down. You will here from us soon. Please obey the rules at other establishments they are just trying to do their best during these times."

The Stage is set to reopen on Thursday.

Anyone who has a complaint about a restaurant or bar that is not following New York State's COVID-19 regulations can call the Erie County Department of Health at (716) 961-6800.

Erie County Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein said the Erie County Department of Health receives on average 25 complaints a day on bars and restaurants not following regulations. All complaints are investigated.

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