Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams has announced that vaccination will no longer be required to attend concerts in the city. Since summer 2021, all entries for gigs have required a vaccination. At a news conference in Times Square, Adams explained that from May 7th, 2022 vaccination status will no longer be required when attending not only concerts, but also restaurants, bars, and gyms.
Adamsâ decision came after Gov. Kathy Hochul lifted the stateâs business mask mandate in mid-February, and later in the month removed New Yorkâs public school face-covering requirement. As of Monday, New York City restaurants and other indoor venues celebrated, as the Big Appleâs proof of vaccination mandate was lifted.
Ismail, who employs a âsmall staffâ of 11 at the Italian restaurant, said workers needing to check vaccine cards at the door made operations âslightly more chaoticâ for her busy workers.
âI think it was an extra task to the already numerous tasks that they have ⊠it sort of added to that aggravation, and it was difficult,â she said.
I think it was an extra task to the already numerous tasks that they have ⊠it sort of added to that aggravation, and it was difficult.
Ismail
Scott Gerber â who operates five upscale bars in the city, including Mr. Purple and The Campbell in Grand Central â looked forward to workers no longer having to enforce public health regulations.
âItâll be nice to have our staff not be cops anymore,â Gerber said. âI donât think anyone really likes being that kind of guardian.â Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Association, felt similarly. âItâs been such a difficult two years. Restaurant and nightlife workers have been âcovid enforcersâ throughout the pandemic. I think thereâs a sense of relief among many not all â but many â to not have to be those enforcers,â he told The Post. âIt put workers in a difficult position for checking proof of vaccination.â
I think thereâs a sense of relief among many not all â but many â to not have to be those enforcers.
Scott Gerber
Stathis Antonakopoulos â the owner of Carnegie Diner and Cafe on the Upper East Side Cafe and Pizza & Shakes on West 57 the Street â told The Post âI am very relieved, happy and ready to finally move on. âCovid was a bad pandemic,â he said. âBut now, we have vaccines and we also have cures. Restaurants paid a high price with Covid. Moving away from asking customers for vaccines is a step towards normality.â
Festivals such as Coachella have also agreed to get rid of COVID precautions including negative test requirements. However, many are arguing that the rate of no-show ticketholders in the US has reached 50%, causing the National Independent Venue Foundation to relaunch its Emergency Relief Fund.
Meanwhile in the UK, the plans to begin âliving with COVIDâ have had mixed reviews, with an overarching worry that this could seriously affect those with existing health conditions now fearing to mix with others. In NYC, a similar sentiment was shared. Patrick Hayes, manager of Virgilâs Real BBQ in Midtown, said some workers told him they felt less safe without the rule in place. âA few of my servers said they were concerned that we wouldnât be asking for vax cards anymore. A few of them said they didnât feel comfortable, and asked if we could keep asking for vax cards. They said they werenât sure if theyâd come in for the shift otherwise,â he told The Post.
Despite the controversy surrounding the COVID-19 vaccination being lifted, most businesses and business owners feel relieved in knowing that this is not only a step towards normalcy but also a step towards securing financial profits. Stephen Elkins, the owner of Forest Hills Station House, said that though the vaccination program didnât hurt his business bottom line, it did slow things down at his bar. âItâs a good thing. I think itâs better. Iâm OK with it. It really slowed me down checking people at the door, but people also felt more comfortable,â he said. âWhatâs done is done, Iâm happy itâs lifted.â
Iâm OK with it. It really slowed me down checking people at the door, but people also felt more comfortable. Whatâs done is done, Iâm happy itâs lifted.
Stephen Elkins
The pandemic has surmounted a lot of negative disparity, but this change the Mayor of NYC brings is a step towards not only the city, but everywhere, it gives hope that stability will become reachable with time and patience.
Originally reported from Mixmag and New York Post
