NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A Staten Island tanning salon owner was fined and threatened with jail time on Thursday morning after he reopened his business, defying the city's and state's orders to keep non-essential businesses closed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Robert Catone, the owner of Sunbelievable tanning salon in Great Kills was forced to close his store by police who warned him he could be taken to jail and have his license revoked if he continued to operate again.
"I'm in enough financial burden. I can't have my license taken away and even make it even worse," he told reports.
A crowd gathered outside of the salon located on Amboy Road included several Staten Island officials, Councilmember Joe Borelli and Assemblyperson Nicole Malliotakis who called on state officials to allow the city to reopen.
"Here on Staten Island, we meet every metric set by the governor, but yet we are unable to move forward. People want to get back to their livelihoods. People want to get back to their jobs so they can feed their families," Malliotakis said.
Catone added he won't stop fighting and will be prepared "for round two."
During his briefing on Thursday, de Blasio urged businesses to not "jump the gun" and warned that if found to be in operation again businesses would be issued fines.