NYC business owners react to de Blasio’s vaccine mandate
Reactions are mixed
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New York City businesses impacted by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s mandate requiring private businesses to force all employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 are weighing in on the outgoing leader’s latest diktat, and reactions are mixed.
James Laraque, who owns Laraque Disinfect N Cleaning Services, LLC, told FOX Business he is against the mandate requiring all workers to get vaccinated by Dec. 27, saying, "I don’t agree with it at all."
NEW YORK, NY - August 03: New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio presents a proclamation at the 46th Precincts National Night Out on August 3, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York City. . (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images) (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Laraque said that de Blasio "is definitely not a popular guy."
"I don’t know what he’s trying to enforce and what he’s trying to do, if he’s trying to cause havoc before he leaves, I don’t know," the business owner went on to say of de Blasio. "I try not to pay too much attention to Mayor de Blasio because you only have a couple of weeks left before his term, so I’m waiting for the new mayor to come in and see what he’s going to do," Laraque said, referring to Mayor-elect Eric Adams, who takes office in January.
New York City Mayor elect Eric Adams speaks to supporters Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II / AP Newsroom)
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But Alan Rada, who owns DecoRada Wallpaper Installation, says he is all for the mandate.
"I think it’s an excellent idea," said Rada. "I’m a contractor. I install wallpaper in buildings throughout Manhattan, and it’s been a concern of mine for quite some time that workers are going in, they have to show their ID, they have to have insurance. But no one knows who’s vaccinated and who isn’t. I highly recommend that all these individuals get vaccinated so that we’re all protected."
Rada is a one-man shop and says he is fully vaccinated and "boosted," so de Blasio’s mandate would not change anything for his operation.
But many business owners will be forced to confront unvaccinated employees (and get vaccinated themselves) under de Blasio’s mandate, which business groups say will only deepen New York City’s ongoing labor shortage.
Westbury, N.Y.: Angel Human, an employee at Cafe Baci in Westbury, New York, gets his Covid-19 vaccination, on August 3, 2021. (Photo by Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday RM via Getty Images) (Photo by Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday RM via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Job Creators Network president and CEO Alfredo Ortiz told FOX Business in a statement, "After eight long years of burdening New York City small businesses with taxes, regulations, and deteriorating public safety, Mayor de Blasio is attempting to implement one more significant mandate just days before he leaves office."
"His vaccine requirement on city employers of all sizes will exacerbate the historic labor shortage plaguing small businesses and comes at the worst possible time during the busy holiday season," Ortiz continued. "It is a final insult to Big Apple job creators. Thankfully for New York City small businesses, de Blasio will soon be gone. So should his vaccine mandate."