Mayor Bill de Blasio insisted Monday that his private-sector COVID-19 vaccine mandate will yield few penalties for Big Apple businesses, declaring “we’re not …
Mayor Bill de Blasio insisted Monday that his private-sector COVID-19 vaccine mandate will yield few penalties for Big Apple businesses, declaring “we’re not trying to do gotcha” on the first day of the policy taking effect. During a virtual press briefing, the outgoing mayor explained that city inspectors will adopt a teaching-first approach that prompts “rare” fines, comparing the strategy to City Hall’s enforcement of the indoor setting vaccine requirement, which produced few fines. “We will give a penalty if someone flatly refuses but that’s very rare. So our inspectors will be out there energetically but with the goal —educate and correct — [and] ideally avoid penalties,” he said. While noting businesses should expect inspections, de Blasio stressed that only flagrant, professed rule-breakers will be assessed fines by city workers from the city Department of Health and other agencies. City enforcement of the coronavirus inoculation rule will be carried out with “an attitude of let’s make sure things are working for everyone’s health and safety, we’re not trying to do gotcha,” said de Blasio, whose term ends after Friday.
