Source: Politics<\/p>\n
NEW YORK \u2014 All New Yorkers who work in the city\u2019s private sector will have to be vaccinated against Covid-19 under a new measure Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday \u2014 a \u201cfirst-in-the-nation\u201d mandate that would take effect four days before he leaves office.<\/p>\n
De Blasio said the requirement, set to kick in on Dec. 27, is intended as a \u201cpreemptive strike\u201d against the threat posed by the new Omicron variant. But he did not say how the city would enforce the rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cVaccination works, and vaccine mandates work,\u201d de Blasio said at a press conference. \u201cWe are taking aggressive action today. We are not going back to what happened in 2020. We cannot allow that to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
The city will also require all children between the ages of 5 and 11 \u2014 who have a 19 percent vaccination rate \u2014 to show proof of at least one shot before entering restaurants, theaters and gyms starting on Dec. 14, de Blasio announced.<\/p>\n
For adults and children 12 and older, who already are required to show proof of one dose for indoor activities, the requirement will increase to full vaccination. The tougher requirement takes effect Dec. 27.<\/p>\n
The announcement comes as de Blasio looks for ways to boost his dismal approval ratings<\/a> ahead of a likely gubernatorial run<\/a>. Business leaders were quick to criticize the plan. \u201cIt\u2019s pure politics,\u201d said Kathryn Wylde, head of the Partnership for New York City.<\/p>\n De Blasio said he shared his plans with his soon-to-be successor, Eric Adams, last week and spoke to Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday morning. In a statement, Adams adviser Evan Thies said: \u201cThe mayor-elect will evaluate this mandate and other COVID strategies when he is in office and make determinations based on science, efficacy and the advice of health professionals.”<\/p>\n During the last weeks of his campaign, Adams did not speak out in support of penalties attached to de Blasio\u2019s vaccine mandate for municipal workers<\/a>.<\/p>\n The mandate will apply to about 184,000 businesses \u2014 every private firm with more than one employee. It will apply to all in-person workers, but not to those who work remotely.<\/p>\n The administration plans to announce more detailed rules on Dec. 15, de Blasio said. Businesses can expect similar financial sanctions to those in place for restaurants, gyms and entertainment venues that do not comply with the city\u2019s existing indoor vaccine mandate: Two warnings before monetary fines, according to the mayor\u2019s press secretary Danielle Filson.<\/p>\n The mandate is being imposed through a commissioner\u2019s order from city Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi. The mayor and the city\u2019s top lawyer said they were confident it would withstand any legal challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cThe health commissioner has an obligation and a responsibility to protect the public health. Here, he is issuing an order that is intended to do just that in a public health emergency,\u201d said Corporation Counsel Georgia Pestana, adding that it would hold up legally because it is applied across the board rather than singling out any industry.<\/p>\n The city has already mandated<\/a> the vaccine for its own workforce, some 380,000 people.<\/p>\n Several cases of the Omicron variant have been identified in the city,<\/a> as infection numbers were already rising, up to 1,879 new virus cases reported on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know it\u2019s here. We know it\u2019s going to spread. It appears to be, at this moment, very transmissible,\u201d de Blasio said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been to this movie before … These are major threats looming, and we see it with the numbers rising.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the new vaccine mandates would help head off the need for shutdowns or other restrictions, which some countries in Europe have imposed. \u201cWe cannot let those restrictions come back. We cannot have shutdowns here in New York City,\u201d de Blasio said.<\/p>\n Business leaders complained they were blindsided by the announcement.<\/p>\n \u201cIt came out of nowhere. No consultation,\u201d Wylde told POLITICO. \u201cIt sows more confusion and uncertainty among businesses that are struggling to restore confidence and get people back to work.\u201d<\/p>\n She said she believes the 11th hour move is motivated by the mayor\u2019s expected run for governor, since \u201cthe vaccination mandates poll well with Democratic primary voters.\u201d<\/p>\n Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President Randy Peers said the requirement will exacerbate already severe labor shortages.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mayor’s private business mandates mean more pain for the City\u2019s economy,\u201d he said. \u201cWhile virtually unenforceable \u2014 there are 62,000 small businesses in Brooklyn alone \u2014 it sets up problematic confrontations between employers and staff, which could result in layoffs around the holidays that would be incredibly unfortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n Andrew Rigie, head of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, called for the vaccine requirement for children at restaurants to be delayed until next year \u2014 noting that it could be a problem for holiday tourism, since young children are not authorized to get the vaccine in some countries outside the U.S.<\/p>\n \u201cPublic health and safety is paramount, but Mayor de Blasio\u2019s announced expansions to the Key to NYC vaccine mandate pose additional challenges for an already beleaguered restaurant industry in need of tourism support and revenues this holiday season,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But de Blasio said many businesses welcome the move, since they were interested in imposing vaccine mandates on their employees but reluctant to act unilaterally. \u201cA single, universal rule is actually better for everyone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Nestor Lebron, the owner of the Barber Factory in the Bronx, agreed. \u201cIt makes a great difference for our customers and for us, knowing that we\u2019re protected,\u201d said Lebron, who has required his workers to get vaccinated and appeared at the mayor\u2019s press briefing Monday.<\/p>\n Just under half of office-based employers have already imposed their own mandates, according to a survey by the Partnership.<\/p>\n Last week, the mayor also rankled Orthodox Jewish leaders<\/a> by requiring employees at yeshivas and other religious schools be vaccinated.<\/p>\n Private sector employers will have options when dealing with workers who refuse to get vaccinated including firing them, putting them on unpaid leave or allowing them to work from home, officials said.<\/p>\n Religious and medical accommodations will be available.<\/p>\n The mandate will not apply to state employees or those working for state-controlled agencies like the MTA and the City University of New York \u2014 leaving them some of the only workers in the city who won\u2019t be covered by a vaccine mandate by the end of the year. De Blasio has called on Hochul<\/a> to impose an MTA vaccine mandate, but she has declined.<\/p>\n