#NY State Liquor Authority breaks mask rules while imposing mask fines

SLA Chairman Vincent Bradley (right), and commissioners Lily Fan (out of frame) and Greeley Ford (left) did not wear masks at a meeting.
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State Liquor Authority board members failed to wear face coverings during a meeting in which they fined at least one business for breaking the same coronavirus safety rule, according to the Albany Times Union.

During the meeting, which was streamed live online Wednesday, SLA Chairman Vincent Bradley and commissioners Lily Fan and Greeley Ford are shown bare-faced as they review bar and restaurant fines, according to the paper.

At one point, a mask-less staff member enters the room and hands papers to Ford, who is also not wearing a face cover, right behind a bare-faced Bradley.

The close interaction came roughly 10 minutes before the board fined an unnamed establishment $1,500 due to “employees with no masks.”

It also came after the board in recent months shut down and penalized many bars and restaurants for violating similar coronavirus-related safety regulations. In total, the panel approved tens of thousands of dollars in penalties at the Wednesday meeting.

Safety guidelines released by the state this spring note, “A distance of at least 6 ft. must be maintained amongst all individuals at all times, unless safety of the core activity requires a shorter distance.”

During the meeting, Fan, Bradley and Ford were seated at tables with distance between them although its not clear whether they were six feet apart.

On Thursday, the SLA sent a statement to The Post calling the paper-passing incident an “isolated lapse.”

“The format of the meeting was designed to provide for social distancing and we have advised everyone that COVID-related protocols must be followed at all times — but let’s be clear, comparing this isolated lapse during a distanced board meeting to a crowded bar or restaurant where alcohol is present and patrons are literally shoulder-to-shoulder is a stretch,” the statement said.