Man hospitalized for COVID-19 after Queens Republican club Christmas party

By David Brand

At least one person has been hospitalized for COVID-19 after attending an indoor Christmas dance party hosted by the Whitestone Republican Club earlier this month, the Eagle has learned.

James Trent, chair of the affiliated Queens Village Republican Club, was admitted to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset where he is recovering from COVID-19, he said from his hospital room Wednesday morning.

Trent said he first began experiencing COVID symptoms two days after attending the Dec. 9 party, which featured a conga line of maskless patrons dancing to the BeeGees in a widely viewed video first reported by the Eagle.

Trent said he was surprised that he got COVID after attending the party because he “wasn’t doing anything risky.”

“I wasn’t on the conga line. I ate by myself,” he said. “I don’t know how I got this."

When asked whether he regretted attending the party, Trent said it was an “interesting question.”

"It was a wonderful time and a great party, but I’m not happy I got sick," he said.

Video of the Dec. 9 event shows about 50 attendees in an indoor catering room, with numerous maskless patrons on the dance floor at Il Bacco Ristorante in Little Neck. Former Queens Assembly candidate James Martinosky and current City Council candidate Vickie Paladino led the conga line through the crowd.

the Whitestone Republican Club in NYC apparently held a Christmas party this year without a care in the world about COVID pic.twitter.com/mHzW86d9M7

— Matt Binder (@MattBinder) December 21, 2020

Only one attendee in the video appears to be wearing a mask as dancers go sans face covering in violation of COVID rules at the time. 

Trent said he thought he “had a cold and then the flu” until he lost his sense of taste following the party. He went to the hospital because he lives alone and was afraid of growing more sick, he said. He was admitted but is in stable condition and expects to be released Thursday, he said.

Another attendee and his wife also tested positive for COVID-19 after the event, according to three people familiar with the couple. They have not yet responded to phone calls seeking comment, so the Eagle is withholding their names.

The Whitestone Republican Club’s Christmas party drew criticism from Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, who said the city would investigate and potentially issue fines to the restaurant and the club. 

Though restaurants were permitted to open indoor dining at 25 percent capacity in New York City at the time of the event, patrons were required to wear masks except when sitting at their table. The state suspended indoor dining Dec. 14, five days after the party.

The Whitestone Republican Club did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Despite the video evidence, club spokesperson Robert Hornak told the Eagle Dec. 21 that the club and the restaurant followed the rules as they existed at the time. 

“We held an intimate gathering observing all the COVID guidelines in place at the time,” Hornak said. “Every attendee was told to wear a mask, and everyone had one when entering, or was given one.”

After the event attracted national news coverage, the Whitestone Republican Club issued a defiant statement on Facebook. 

“Adults have the absolute right to make their own decisions, and clearly many chose to interact like normal humans and not paranoid zombies in hazmat suits,” the club wrote. “This is for some reason controversial to the people who believe it's their job to tell us all what to do.”

Similar maskless indoor political gatherings  — Democratic and Republican — have faced scrutiny amid a surge in COVID cases across New York City. The seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate reached 7.45 percent in New York City Tuesday, with 182 people admitted to local hospitals for treatment the day before, de Blasio said.

The Whitestone Republican Club is not affiliated with the Queens County Republican Party, an indication of the fractured state of the county GOP.

Queens County Republican Party Chairperson Joann Ariola said her organization decided not to have a party this year.

“As the chairwoman of the Queens GOP we made the responsible decision not to have an in-person holiday gathering,” Ariola said.