NYC business owners have hit out at Mayor Bill de Blasio. He blindsided them by declaring that all employees in the private sector must be immunized against COVID-19 on Monday.
Luis Concha of Well Kept Barbershop, Astoria Queens, said, ‘I am not too happy about it.’ “Now, employees will lose money. It will be difficult for me to keep people, and other things as such.
Customers and employees aged 12 years and older were required to take at least one pill in order to enjoy indoor entertainment, gym and indoor dining.
The group includes children aged 5 and under, and they must have a second shot by December 27. Office workers, as well private sector employees, have until that date to receive their first compulsory shot.
Remote workers do not have to be vaccinated.
DailyMail.com heard from business owners that, while most of them had already followed the “Key to NYC” guidelines announced by the city in August; they feel that the new rules are an excessive approach by a mayor who may be threatening the economy.
Bill de Blasio, the outgoing NYC Mayor, announced Monday a new mandate for vaccines that will apply to employees in private sectors at offices and other business locations.
Many business owners are still concerned about finding enough employees during this economic recession. Others worry that extra regulations will reduce the pool of candidates.
Seventy percent of New York City residents have at least one dose of the double-shot Pfizer or Moderna or one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. According to data from the city, nearly 78 percent of New Yorkers have at least one dose.
Alex Yonatanov is the owner of Ace of Bladez in Manhattan. He said that he has been vaccinated, but his other employees have not.
You can’t force the person to get the vaccine. Either way, there is currently a shortage in employees. This is incredible. This is unbelievable.
New York City’s public employees are currently subject to a vaccination mandate. However, business groups have expressed concern about similar regulations for the private sector.
Kathryn Wylde, head of the business group Partnership for NYC, blasted the mayor’s announcement.
‘There’s no forewarning, no discussion, no idea about whether it’s legal or who he expects to enforce it,’ Kathryn Wylde, the head of business group Partnership for NYC, told the New York Post. ‘There’s been no consultation.’
Wylde stated that they were “blindsided”. ‘It’s unclear by what authority the mayor is doing this.’
De Blasio estimates that the new vaccine mandate, targeting children 5-12 and all workers in the private sector, will have an impact on 184,000 businesses.
Although the bombshell mandate for vaccines – which was announced four days prior to most employees in the private sector taking off for holidays – will start on December 27, the mayor said that more information would be made available about the initiative starting on December 15.
On Monday, he stated that the mandate would apply to all in-person employees, any workplace with more than one worker on-site will be subject to it. There will also not be an option to opt out of testing.
John A. Catsimatidis (CEO and Chairman, Red Apple Group), which owns the supermarkets Gristedes, D’Agostino, and Gristedes throughout the city, believes his workers should have a choice.
I don’t believe it has any impact [business]DailyMail.com, he said. “He won’t be the mayor until he enforces it.”
Alex Paval from Giovanni’s Italian Grill in Bronx stated that his staff had already been in compliance since August with the vaccination mandate.
He said that “our staff has already been fully vaccinated,” and added that they weren’t worried about any possible effects of the mandate.
Cynthia, a Midtown employee who was afraid of backlash, said that her new name requirement gave the Post another reason to move.
‘Just terrific. Bill de Blasio gave me yet another reason to leave New York City, or find work that allows me to telecommute, she stated.
‘I work in the private sector and had really hoped until just now that it would stay private, but that’s not the case. I can’t live like this. It’s really disappointing.
“I wish the new mayor had the compassion and the good sense to change this.”
Republican elected officials also joined the chorus of disapproval.
‘Mayor de Blasio can’t leave fast enough. He is a stooge to small business and the quality of our lives. What number of New Yorkers would he like to see moving to Florida, the state free from all restrictions? Nicole Malliotakis of the US, who lives on Staten Island in Brooklyn, said that.
‘I’m hopeful the incoming mayor will roll back these arbitrary mandates,’ said US Rep. Lee Zeldin, who represents Long Island and ran for governor this year.