Undeterred by Police, Grand Park Avenue Residents Hold a Wedding

Grand Park Avenue residents were busted for holding a wedding in their yard on Thursday night April 23 in spite of the Governor’s orders mandating social distancing. Undaunted by police the family proceeded with the wedding. When confronted by Scarsdale Police Officers, the father of the bride was adamant that the ceremony would go on and refused to acknowledge that it was illegal to hold a gathering in his yard.

Scarsdale Police were tipped off to the celebration at 7:45 pm on Thursday night April 23. When they arrived, they saw an “unusually large number of vehicles parked on Cornell Street and Grand Park Avenue.” Police entered through an open gate to find the homeowner.

They found an elaborate set up for a wedding, including a four-piece band, musicians, photographers, a large commercial tent with a clear plastic roof and a chuppah all in place. The 8-10 foot chuppah was covered in flowers and underneath was a table with a wine bottle and glasses surrounded by twelve chairs.

Police located the 65 year-old homeowner who was not wearing a mask. He claimed that he was holding a small wedding for his daughter and that only ten people would attend. Police asked everyone on the scene to put on a mask. The homeowner insisted that the wedding would proceed quickly. Police informed him that “all social gathering and all non-essential gathering were not permitted due to the current pandemic under Governor’s Executive Order 202 which prohibits worship services, parties, celebration or other social events of any size for any reason.”

The father of the bride said he thought he could hold a gathering of ten people and claimed they were just taking photos and the photographers were leaving. While police were speaking to the man, several cars pulled into the driveway and the drivers were told to turn around and park on the street. Police also observed two men who later said they were security guards. Inside the house, police saw another 15-20 people all wearing suits and attire for a formal gathering.

Outside the gate, police found more people in their cars dressed in evening attire. Some said they were family members who wished to congratulate the family and said they would exit immediately. The number of people at the event grew and police could hear loud music coming from the house. Police rang the front gate buzzer to speak to the homeowner “to no avail.” They spoke to the rabbi who said, “a gathering of 10 people is fine” and refused to provide any additional information as he exited the premises.

According to the report, after the music stopped, several of the guests, the mother and the father of the bride, the bride and groom, the videographer and the photographer exited the property and handed out gift bags to the people in parked cars and those driving on Grand Park Avenue.

Police gave a summons to the homeowner for willful violation of health laws per the Governor’s Order which is a misdemeanor.