New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ decision to drop vaccine mandates has been welcomed by retaurant and bar owners – but the move is ‘long overdue’ and ‘too late’ for many of them which could still be forced to shut their doors due to a lack of customers.
Restaurant owners like Robert Mahon, who runs Toro Loco, Amor Loco and Broadstone in Manhattan, told DailyMail.com that lifting the mandate was long overdue.
‘It’s too late for many of us. The New York Local government has destroyed thousands of businesses so far and unfortunately, many restaurants in non-residential areas are still suffering,’ he said.
‘There will be more bars and restaurants closing over the next few months regardless of the vaccine mandate being lifted. Until offices return to full capacity, the outlook for many is bleak.’
Over the past two weeks, Adams has been stressing the need to get employees back into offices after a study showed that just 28 percent are going into work every day. He said the move was crucial to the city’s culture and economy as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations stabilize from an early-January peak.
‘In order for our economic – financial ecosystem, I should say – to function, we have to have human interaction,’ Adams said last week Wednesday.
But until that happens, the bleak outlook is shared by other businesses across the city, including Joey Hayes, the manager of Short Stories bar in the East Village, who told DailyMail.com that the mandate has been difficult and polarizing.
‘In New York City it’s been a little tough because we have gotten villainized for these mandates. Instead of customers being thankful that we are protecting them and public health, they asked why we were doing this,’ she said.
‘They asked why we were putting up walls and boundaries but all we were doing was trying to protect our business from getting shutdown’.
Businesses in New York City are welcoming what some say is the ‘long over due’ repeal of the city’s proof of vaccination requirement (Pictured: A Katz’s Deli employee checks the proof of vaccination from customers who will be eating inside the restaurant in Aug. 2021)
Customers at Katz’s Deli – a tourist hotspot – have their proof of vaccination checked at the door. Mayor Adams announced on Sunday that proof of vaccination would no longer be required for indoor dining, fitness, and entertainment values beginning March 7 as long as COVID metrics don’t worsen
A sign at Clinton Hall tells diners to show proof of vaccination. Restaurant owners say two years of punishing lockdowns have already forced thousands of restaurants to close – and they fear more will shut their door as workers continue to work from home
Mayor Adams announced on Sunday that proof of vaccination would no longer be required for indoor dining, fitness, and entertainment values beginning March 7 as long as COVID metrics don’t worsen. He is set to make a final decision on rescinding the mandate Friday.
Other major cities – including Chicago – have already made moves to lift their vaccination proof requirements as key data revealed the worst of the Omicron surge is behind us. COVID cases in the U.S. are reaching a low point, with the nation having only recorded 7,464 new infections of Sunday.
The move to lift restrictions comes after several New York City restaurants made the decision not to enforce the vaccine mandates, and thousands were forced to shut for good after two years of punishing lockdowns.
In August 2021, a group of Staten Island restaurants and other businesses sued then-Mayor Bill de Blasio and the city over the mandate, who called it ‘arbitrary, irrational, unscientific and unlawful’.
‘These restrictions have severely and irreparably damaged small businesses all over the City,’ the lawsuit stated.
The mandates have also caused an uproar among customers. In September, a hostess at famed restaurant Carmine’s was attacked by three Texas women who were part of a group where some were refused entry for not showing proof of their vaccine.
The women, who were later charged, claimed the Asian hostess called them a racial slur – a claim the hostess denied.
The mandates have also caused an uproar among customers. In September, a hostess at famed restaurant Carmine’s was attacked by three Texas women who were part of a group where some were refused entry for not showing proof of their vaccine
After Adams’ announcement lifting the restrictions, Short Stories manager Joey Hayes told DailyMail.com that having to check for proof of vaccination was a ‘very invasive’ process.
‘Needing to ask customers requirements questions as soon as they walk into an establishment has been tough,’ she explained. ‘You want to give customers a beautiful experience, asking for vaccination proof created a playing field that wasn’t great and lifting this requirement is going to help with customer experience.
‘It was initially put in place to protect everyone, but I think now we can go back to the way we experienced customer service and hospitality before.’
The restaurant and bar manager also explained how pandemic restrictions negatively impacted business, noting the proof of vaccination requirement was initially met with reluctancy.
‘A lot of people in New York City were vaccinated already, so it wasn’t a fight for us specifically, but it did absolutely affect the business,’ Hayes said, noting that on her travels she found many other states were not conducting vaccine checks.
‘Initially we saw a big impact, especially when there was reluctancy to get vaccinations. There was reluctancy to be around people in general. It took until July when we saw a pick-up in business and August is when we saw people starting to arrive in more of a normal volume. Now, we’re back to seeing the numbers we saw in previous years.’
She added: ‘We used to work with flus and colds and all these types of things in the past and we need to get that way again.’
Hayes also noted her establishment has adapted to all sorts of COVID restrictions and if there ‘comes a time’ when they need to conduct vaccination checks again, they will do so.
Similarly, NYC Hospitality Alliance Chair Andrew Rigie reiterated the importance of officials continuing to be ‘smart and safe and modify mandates as COVID risks are reduced.’
‘So, removing proof of vaccination for indoor dining in NYC will be welcome news to many restaurants and bars, although I wouldn’t be surprised if some biz want to voluntarily keep it in place,’ Rigie tweeted Sunday night.
In announcing the lifting of the city’s mandates, Adams tweeted: ‘We’ve fought a long, hard battle. And we’re winning it because of the grit and determination of every day New Yorkers like you’
Adams said the city will loosen its restrictions as long as Covid data continues trending in the right direction, but some criticized his decision to lift vaccine requirements indoors
Mayor Adams announced his push to end the proof of vaccination mandate over the weekend after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the state would be dropping its mask mandates.
‘I want to thank the millions of New Yorkers who masked up and helped us reach unprecedented levels of vaccinations,’ Adams tweeted Sunday. ‘We’ve fought a long, hard battle. And we’re winning it because of the grit and determination of every day New Yorkers like you.’
The indoor mask mandate for schools will also be lifted the same day, providing there are no unexpected virus spikes.
‘New York City’s numbers continue to go down day after day, so, as long as COVID indicators show a low level of risk and we see no surprises this week, on Monday, March 7 we will also lift Key2NYC requirements,’ Adams announced.
‘This will give business owners the time to adapt and will allow us to ensure we are making the best public health decisions for the people of New York.’
Prior the Sunday’s announcement, Adams had indicated he was eager to lift COVID restrictions and help businesses return to pre-pandemic normalcy.
‘We can’t close down again and I’m not going to do something at my anticipation to get back that’s going to jeopardize closing down the city again,’ Adams said during a press conference last Wednesday.
‘Our economy can’t handle it. We don’t have another $11billion to put back in the economy. We must do it the smart way.’
The mayor also shared that he meets with health experts daily who had been providing structure and benchmarks the city needed to meet before foregoing coronavirus restrictions.
OVID cases in the U.S. are reaching a low point, with the nation having only recorded 7,464 new infections of Sunday
