Only 14 Out of 27,500 NYC Businesses Fined, So Far, for Failing to Comply with Vaccine Mandate

  by Yehudit Garmaise

     Out of 27,500 businesses that have been inspected for compliance for enforcement of the Key to NYC Pass, which shows proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, entertainment venues, museums, and fitness centers in New York City, so far, only 14 businesses have been fined $1,000, but 6,760 businesses have been warned, the New York Post reported.

     After receiving warnings of non-compliance, New York City businesses that disregard the vaccination mandate face $1,000 fines for first offenses, $2,000 for second offenses, and $5,000 for each additional violation.

     The city has declined to identify the businesses and their locations that were hit with fines for failing to comply with the city’s new vaccination rules that require customers to show proof of vaccination at the door.

     The city began sending out representatives of city agencies, not the NYPD, to enforce the mandate that began Sept. 13, after several weeks in which 600 canvassers, who had access to translations of more than 80 languages, hit the pavement that sought to explain the specifics of the new mandate to the city’s small business owners.

     In August, when the city aimed to answer questions about the vaccine mandate, BoroPark24 pointed out to the mayor that many business owners in Boro Park were still reeling from the vast number of inspectors that descended on 13th Avenue in October 2020 to enforce unexplained COVID protocols.

     While other neighborhoods were not similarly deluged with inspectors, many business owners in Boro Park reported visits by as many as 12 inspectors in one day.

     In addition, most business owners had previously received no emails, letters, or phone calls about what exactly the COVID  protocols were and how to best implement them.

     With civilian agencies now returning to neighborhoods to enforce the NYC pass, BoroPark24 asked the mayor whether he can guarantee that some neighborhoods will not suffer more numerous and severe inspections and fines than others.

      “I heard those complaints and concerns last year,” Mayor de Blasio said. “I certainly was not happy with what happened. That was not the goal.”

     Although many Boro Park business owners received citations both from the state of New York and New York City, the mayor blamed the outlandish number of inspectors on 13th Avenue last fall on former Gov. Cuomo, who left office on Aug. 24.

     “We had a very contentious relationship with the state of New York at that point: mandating additional rules and approaches that weren’t always helpful,” said the mayor. “We don’t want to penalize anyone if we can avoid it.

     “I don’t want to see those kinds of nonstop inspections: that is not our goal.”

(Darren McGee- Office of Formor Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)