N.Y.C. Reacts to New Mask-or-Vaccine Mandate: ‘Most People, They Understand' – The New York Times
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Businesses across New York City were mixed on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s new mask mandate, with some welcoming the new rule while others groaned over even tighter restrictions.
The statewide mandate, which went into effect Monday, requires all indoor businesses to ask customers for proof of full vaccination or enforce mask-wearing at all times. The new rule comes as the state grapples with the threat of a winter surge in coronavirus cases.
Individuals are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving either the second shot of the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to the state and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Children ages 5 to 11 statewide will only need to show proof of one dose to be admitted to places requiring full vaccination, the state said.
“I’m not telling them to put a mask on,” said Eva Dayton, the owner of Consignment Brooklyn in Boerum Hill. “I’m not telling you what to do. I’m not a law enforcement person, I’m a business owner.”
Ms. Dayton said she thinks her customers are often fully vaccinated anyway. Still, she said she knew she was taking a risk given possible fines.
“I’m not OK with a fine, I think it’s actually quite ridiculous,” Ms. Dayton said, adding how difficult it has been for small businesses to survive during the pandemic. “I think that that can hurt us even more.”
George Helewa, the store manager of Danice, a clothing store in Harlem, said he was tired of enforcing mask mandates in general.
“I’m over it,” Mr. Helewa said.
On Monday, Mr. Helewa was busy putting up signs around the store about the state’s new mask policy. He said he was fed up with having to tussle with customers coming into the store without a mask. On several occasions, employees have had to ask customers to leave.
“We’ve had issues in the past,” he said. “At times we get lashed at, cursed at.”
Other businesses welcomed the new rules. Michael Han, general manager of Apollo Beauty Land in Harlem, said the store already had a mask policy in place, and customers who came in without a mask were encouraged to purchase one there.
“We have a lot of different customers,” Mr. Han said. “We don’t know who’s vaccinated, who’s not.”
For many businesses in the city, the state’s new mandate will seem like status quo. Engracia Bravo, a waitress at El Zasón, a Mexican restaurant in Boerum Hill, said employees were already requiring that customers be fully vaccinated. Some customers even show her their vaccination card before she asks for it, she said.
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“Most people, they understand,” Ms. Bravo said, adding that many customers have also had their booster shots. “I need to take care of the place, the guests, the customers.”
But the new state rule creates some complications for restaurants in the city. Last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced he was strengthening vaccination requirements for indoor dining, entertainment and fitness venues, requiring them to ask people ages 12 and older to show proof they had gotten two doses of a vaccine starting Dec. 27 rather than just one dose, unless they had gotten the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
But Ms. Hochul’s state policy requiring customers to be fully vaccinated or wear a mask has already gone into effect.
Pedro Ramirez, store manager of Harlem Shake, a burger restaurant in Harlem, said he was confused by how quickly the rules have been changing. He said he wasn’t concerned about the discrepancy between the governor and the mayor’s policies, however, since the majority of his customers have been fully vaccinated.
But a handful of customers have given his employees trouble, he said, and he’s unsure whether there will be stronger pushback in a few days once more businesses and customers learn about the new state policy.
“95 percent have been fine, but this 5 percent is annoying to us,” Mr. Ramierez said. “But I’d like to be safe.”
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