New Jersey cops busted a 700-person house party over the weekend at an Airbnb — and had to spend more than four hours to clear the pandemic-era blowout, according to a report.
Jackson homeowner Yaakov Weiss, 40, and alleged party organizers, Patience Guanue, 23, and Alicia Hinneh, 22, were issued summonses for allegedly violating the state executive order barring gatherings of 500 people or more during the coronavirus outbreak, .
The fiesta allegedly began at Weiss’ home on Mill Pond Road — which was being rented out via the home-sharing website — Sunday night.
It took officers from seven law enforcement agencies from 8:30 p.m. until 1:00 a.m. to clear the neighborhood of crowds and about 100 parked cars, the outlet said.
Cops initially responded to complaints from neighbors of disturbances and trespassing and reached out to Weiss who said he’d rented the home on Airbnb and left his place after some 200 people where there, the report said.
“C’mon folks, (you’re) putting the health of the police at risk here,” Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday during a coronavirus briefing, according to the report. “That’s needlessly putting men and women in uniform and their personal health and their families’ health at risk.”
The governor acknowledged that this and other large house parties could be popping up as indoor dining and bars are still closed.
“The concern is it’s driving some of these otherwise gatherings underground,” he said, according to the outlet. “Don’t congregate indoors. I know it’s hot, but the good news is that it’s hot. You can do this outside.”
“You’re playing with fire if you gather indoors without face coverings, without social distancing,” he said.
Airbnb spokesman Benjamin Breit said the platform removed Hinneh and Guanue’s accounts and deactivated the house listing while they investigate. Breit also said the company has banned “party houses” worldwide and taken measures to prevent any gatherings that violate public health rules.
“We strongly condemn the reported behavior, which represents both a clear violation of Airbnb’s community policies and a particularly serious abuse during this public health crisis,” Breit said.
Weiss did not immediately return a request for comment. Hinneh and Guanue, both of Newark, separately did not respond to a request for comment.