(NYP) – One defiant NYC business owner — who’s been deemed “non-essential” during the pandemic — has a message to New York: “I’m opening my doors come hell or high water.” Eliot Rabin, whose Upper East Side boutique, Peter Elliot, is known for high-end men’s and boys apparel, refuses to follow a state order closing retail business not considered essential.
He insists that his $85 pocket squares and $15,000 suits are part of the fabric of New York City: “Why is a liquor store essential and I’m not?” Rabin told The Post. He admitted that many of the customers who can afford his wares have fled the city for vacation homes, but he’s here to provide “emotional essential support” for the ones still in town.
The retailer is also offering them what he jokingly calls “internal vaccinations: Chivas Regal, Kentucky bourbon — have a nip and you’ll feel better.” Rabin added that it’s also the only course of action for saving his business. “We’ve applied for every loan, every break … to no avail. We got bubkes,” said the 78-year-old Army vet who once ran on the GOP congressional ticket to defeat Carolyn Maloney in the 12th district. READ MORE
