Gov. Hochul’s sudden mask-at-your-desk mandate sparked outrage in New York City as it went into effect Monday despite the Big Apple having some of the lowest rates of COVID-19 and highest rates of vaccination in the nation.
The new statewide rules, put into effect largely to stem the tide of a surge in cases upstate, where vaccination rates are poor, went into effect just three days after she announced the order on all businesses that don’t require their workers, customers or visitors to present proof of vaccination against COVID-19.
One Manhattan hedge-fund manager called Hochul’s order — which at first was met with confusion about whether it applied to offices as well as retail and service businesses — “shortsighted, in that people were told they have to get a vaccine.”
“These mask mandates hinder the desire people have to get back to the office and further delay the revitalization of Midtown and downtown office life,” the financier said.
“If people want to wear masks, they can wear masks, but we have to let individuals make their own risk-taking decisions and stop making those decisions on their behalf.”
The hedge-funder added: “And that might be necessary at the beginning of a pandemic — but two years later, it reeks of authoritarianism.”
Hochul’s order goes further than any of the mask mandates handed down by predecessor Andrew Cuomo, even during the height of the state’s deadly, first wave of COVID-19, when New York City was the deadliest city in the nation.
NYC cases low
The order comes as the new Omicron variant has stoked fears despite just 38 cases statewide, 23 of them in the Big Apple.
It also came despite state data that shows New York City’s latest seven-day positivity rate of 2.7 percent was the state’s lowest by far, with all nine other regions at 4.5 percent or higher and Hochul’s native Western New York topping out at 9.55 percent.
A Wall Street banker called the blanket directive “so frustrating because I got the vaccine, not only because it was mandated but because I wanted to be able to go to work without having to wear a mask all day.”
“I’ve been very exhausted because I constantly have to talk to my clients all day and sometimes I can’t breathe properly in my mask — and my clients can’t hear me,” the banker said.
“It just doesn’t make sense to get the vaccine if I still have to wear a mask. That’s so dumb.”
A clerk at a Manhattan law firm said, “I find this discouraging — a downer for the holiday season.”
“When I can get away with not wearing a mask at work, depending on which boss is in, I’ll take it off,” said the clerk, 29,
“Wearing a mask doesn’t speak to whether you’re vaccinated or not.”
An unvaccinated paralegal for another firm said, “This is why I don’t really care for the vaccine.”
“Vaccinated or not, you’re still able to get the virus. So the mask is truly just a precaution,” he said.
Kathy Wylde, executive director of the pro-business Partnership for New York City, noted that the city hadn’t yet announced enforcement guidelines for Hochul’s order, which carries fines of $1,000 per violation.
“The feedback is basically people are confused, people don’t want to be in violation of a public health order,” she said. “For the retail sector, it’s the busiest time of year and they just want to get through holidays by maintaining testing and the status quo.”
‘Causing chaos’
During a news conference in Manhattan, Hochul said that she had “faith in New Yorkers . . . to do what’s right” and comply with her mandate, adding, “We hope that counties will enforce it.”
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-LI), who’s challenging Hochul in next year’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, accused Hochul of being “not focused sufficiently on developing a comprehensive plan to address a very serious issue that we face in our state and in our country.”
“I think it’s causing chaos,” he said. “I think it’s causing businesses to say, ‘What do you mean? You told me on Friday . . . on the weekend, and now Monday I’m supposed to enforce this?’ ”
Suozzi added: “I mean, it’s not a plan, and it’s not being sold to the public.”
Meanwhile, Nassau County Executive-elect Bruce Blakeman, a Republican, announced that he would join about a dozen other county leaders in defying the mask mandate once he’s sworn in to office.
“Come January 1, my administration will move Nassau forward with a common-sense approach that acknowledges the facts, science and progress made by our residents while also protecting businesses and jobs from any further damage created by government mandates,” Blakeman said.
Blakeman noted that 97 percent of adult Nassau residents have received at least one dose of vaccine and that “Nassau hospitals have adequate capacity to handle existing demand.”
“Nassau County is not in crisis, and should not be painted with the same broad brush as the rest of the state,” he said.
Additional reporting by Elizabeth Rosner, Bernadette Hogan, Carl Campanile and Nolan Hicks
