A business owner who's suing New York Mayor Bill de Blasio over the city's new vaccine mandate said 'enough is enough' aft...
A business owner who's suing New York Mayor Bill de Blasio over the city's new vaccine mandate said 'enough is enough' after a dizzying patchwork of COVID restrictions slashed her profits by 80 percent.
'We followed all rules with the masks and six-foot distancing, curfew, cleaning logs, temperature checks,' Alison Marchese, co-owner of the Italian restaurant Max's Es-ca on Staten Island,.
'Come on, it's enough is enough right now.'
Marchese is part of a group of restaurants and gyms that sued the mayor over his 'arbitrary and capricious' rule that will force employees to check the vaccine status of every single indoor customer.
The new rules are unfair because they don't apply to other places where people gather inside, like grocery stores with long lines or crowded office buildings, the lawsuit says.
Alison Marchese (left) is the co-owner of the Italian restaurant Max Es-ca's on Staten Island along with her business partner Max Calicchio (right). They are two of several business owners suing Mayor Bill de Blasio over the new vaccine mandate
Marchese of Max's Es-ca says she doesn't know if she'll check her customers' vaccine status: 'I cannot answer that right now'
Marchese still doesn't know if she'll check her customers' vaccine cards when the city starts enforcing the rule in 25 days.
'I would like not to,' she said. 'I don't know. I cannot answer that right now.'
She also declined to say whether she's been vaccinated.
De Blasio's kicked off his controversial 'Key to NYC' plan on August 17, becoming the first city in the nation to impose rules separating the vaccinated and the unvaccinated in day-to-day life.
Other cities, including New Orleans and San Francisco, have since followed suit with similar mandates.
New York's rules require staff and customers at dining, entertainment and fitness venues to have at least one dose of a COVID vaccine to enter indoor spaces.
Enforcement in the Big Apple won't begin until September 13, and businesses that don't comply will face fines.
First-time offenders will be slapped with a $1,000 summons. The fine doubles for a second offense and goes up to $5,000 the third time if caught breaking the rules within a year, according to the city.
On Wednesday afternoon, several fast food restaurants in Manhattan seemed to disregard the initiative, not asking patrons to show their CDC vaccination cards or Excelsior passes. The AMC Village 7 movie theater in the East Village also wasn't checking.
The Staten Island group's lawsuit was officially filed Tuesday at 7pm in Richmond County Supreme Court on behalf of the Independent Restaurant Owners Association Rescue (IROAR).
Marchese says she formed the group out of 'desperation' in May 2020 after her business remained closed for four months during the first wave of COVID.
'I own a restaurant. I'm a bartender, I'm a waitress. This is not my forte,' she said of community organizing.
IROAR has sued de Blasio before, with the mayor capitulating to their demands and re-opening indoor dining at 25 percent capacity in September of last year.
A staff member checks the vaccine status of Celene Lucas (left) via an app at Nimble Fitness in Manhattan on Wednesday
Sign posted outside Nimble Fitness (left) and Crunch Fitness near Union Square warn customers that they have to be vaccinated to enter
The group disbanded until the mayor announced the latest vaccine requirements on August 3.
Marchese says the rules are turning customers away.
'They don't want to release their personal information,' she said.
Their lawsuit argues: 'There are many other venues that involve groups of 'unassociated people interacting for a substantial period of time' such as grocery stores, pharmacies, hair salons, churches, office buildings, schools, healthcare facilities etc. and yet these venues will not require vaccination of all workers and patrons.'
De Blasio's mandate also makes no exceptions for those who can't or shouldn't get the vaccine, the lawsuit adds.
Joining the legal fight are Staten Island fitness venues Evolve-33 and Judo Jujitsu.
Joseph Cannizzo, who owns Judo Jujitsu, says he wonders how the city can expect him to uphold a mandate that requires extra work when they've barely helped him get through the pandemic.
'We hoped and expected the government would make it right,' he said Thursday. 'We did what was asked and we did it gladly. As time went on, we noticed there were tons of shortcomings.'
Joseph Cannizzo (center) owns the Judo Jujitsu dojo. As the only employee of his business, he says he's gotten little help from the government and that the new vaccine requirements would be an extra burden that would deter customers
As his dojo's only employee, Cannizzo estimates that the federal government's Paycheck Protection Program only helped him make up less than 10 percent of his 2019 revenue.
'As you can imagine, being closed 15 months, five to nine percent does nothing for expenses, mortgages, property taxes,' he said. 'It does nothing.'
He also got a $1,000 EIDL grant from the US Small Business Administration.
After a series of fits and starts, indoor fitness classes were allowed to reopen at 33 percent capacity in March of this year, but mask mandates and other forms of social distancing have made it difficult to run classes at places such as CrossFit, SoulCycle, or a dojo like Cannizzo's.
Evolve-33 owner Matthew Gleib declined to comment on the lawsuit and referred all questions to his attorney.
The bakery Pasticceria Rocco, which has locations in Greenwich Village and Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, also joined the suit.
Manager Mary Josephine Generoso responded to the mayor's rules by erecting a huge sign outside of the Bay Ridge location welcoming 'vaccinated or unvaccinated' customers into the dining room.
Under the new rules, anyone aged 12 and older must now show proof of vaccination to dine indoors in New York City's restaurants. If a customer fails to show their vaccine passport, they can only dine outdoors.
The onus of enforcing the mayor's new mandate falls on restaurant servers and bar staff.
Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis of Staten Island was flanked by local lawmakers and business owners when she announced the lawsuit alongside plaintiffs' attorneys Louis Gelormino and Mark Fonte.
Mary Josephine Generoso, manager of pastry shop and diner Pasticceria Rocco in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, stands in front of a much different sign at her store. She's part of a lawsuit seeking an injunction against Mayor Bill de Blasio's vaccine mandate
Fonte said waiters and other workers were being 'deputized' by the mayor to act as 'law enforcement' by checking vaccination cards and turning people away if they don't have them.
'Who is the mayor and his cronies to tell us Staten Islanders that we have to divulge our own personal healthcare decisions to a maître d' at a restaurant in order to sit down and eat a hamburger?' asked Fonte.
On Wednesday, Mayor de Blasio said he would keep his comments on the lawsuit 'limited,' but added that he had 'tremendous confidence that we're in a strong legal position.
'We're in a global pandemic still. The decisions that have been taken, have been taken with the leadership of our health officials who have been fighting this battle from the beginning, and we know we must get more people vaccinated.'
To date, 74 percent of adults in New York City have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Charlie Cassara, who owns two gyms on Long Island and heads the US Fitness Coalition, also spoke at Malliotakis' press conference.
'The U.S. Fitness Coalition is not anti-vaxxers,' Cassara said. 'We are in the business of keeping people healthy and fit through proper nutrition and exercise.'
'The city does not have the right to tell us who we can serve for any reason - that decision is up to us as private business owners.'
Cassara had already sued de Blasio las year, after the mayor removed gyms from the city's Phase 4 reopening list, according to The Staten Island Advance. He's appeared on Fox News, where he spoke about how how difficult it was for some customers to feel comfortable under the mayor's rules for gyms.
'For instance, in order for us to get rid of the social distancing inside of our gyms, we have to take people's vaccination cards. This is creating a big problem between people who don't want to give it or haven't been vaccinated,' he said.
Confused New York City customers found themselves turned away from restaurants as the COVID-19 vaccine mandate came into effect on Tuesday night, sparking backlash from restaurant owners who slammed the move as 'segregation.'
In a press conference Wednesday, De Blasio said he has 'tremendous confidence' that his rules will hold up in court. 'We're in a global pandemic still ... We know we must get more people vaccinated.'
The mandate also applies to other indoor social settings, with vaccine passports now required to enter the city's gyms, fitness centers, indoor pools, movie theaters, music and concert venues, museums, indoor stadiums and arenas, convention centers, bowling alleys and indoor play areas.
The rollout of 'Key to NYC' was uneven Wednesday, with many businesses opting out until they absolutely have to.
A man in the East Village told DailyMail.com that he got takeout from Chipotle with no issues. He said he was only asked for his vaccination card at a bar.
A small group of anti-mandate protesters gathered on Union Square in Manhattan Wednesday afternoon, carrying signs reading, 'It's my body, not the government's,' and, 'My body, my choice'
Protester Lulu Lopez called the vaccines 'experimental' and said, 'We have a right to choose what to put in our bodies.'
By 4pm, a small crowd had gathered at Union Square to protest the new rules.
Lulu Lopez, wearing a shirt reading, 'My body, my choice,' called the new mandate 'exclusionary.'
'We have a right to choose what to put in our bodies,' she said, calling the vaccines 'experimental.'
'We shouldn't be banned from places because we don't want to get the vaccine,' Lopez said. 'What's next? They're going to ban us from supermarkets?'
While the mayor has touted the mandate as a way of returning to normal life and said it will push more New Yorkers to get the shot, the program places yet another COVID-19 restriction on the city's hard-hit restaurants and bars.
The hospitality industry was hammered during the pandemic, with grueling restrictions and indoor dining shuttered most of 2020 - even while other industries and businesses were allowed to reopen.
At least 1,000 restaurants and bars have permanently shuttered in the Big Apple since March 2020 when the virus first ground the industry to a halt.
Now, for restaurant owners that managed to keep their businesses afloat, the new mandate is a cause of major debate.
Some business owners have raised concerns about the mandate being discriminatory and un-American, about the rollout of fake vaccine cards, and about restaurant staff having to bear the brunt of potential customers' outrage over the new rule - not to mention what it could do to business if restaurants must turn away customers and their money.
Meanwhile, others have welcomed the move as the best way to keep people safe and avoid further shutdowns and were already requiring proof of vaccination for staff and customers before the city announced a wider rule.
A customer shows proof of vaccination to a worker in Clinton Hall in Manhattan as the vaccine mandate kicked off Tuesday
De Blasio has insisted the new rule is 'easy' and 'all you have to do is show proof of vaccination' but on day one of the rule, both staff and patrons appeared to be unaware of or confused about the new rule in some eateries.
The Stop Inn, a Queens diner, was prepared, plastering the Key to NYC posters on its front door and window Tuesday to warn patrons arriving for breakfast that they had to show proof of at least one vaccine shot to be allowed to dine inside.
However, Norbu Lama, 17, said he was surprised when a server politely asked for his vaccination card soon after he slid into a booth with his parents and younger sister.
'We didn't know we had to bring it,' he said. The server appeared relieved when Lama and his family presented copies of their vaccination cards on their phone, Lama said.
Eateries that offer only take-out, delivery and outdoor dining are not required to ask customers for proof of vaccination but must remove or block off any indoor seating and tables.
This means unvaccinated New Yorkers can still briefly enter restaurants and bars to collect takeout, to make necessary repairs or to use the restroom as long as they wear a face mask and practice social distancing.
'If you are unvaccinated and you want to go in and get takeout somewhere, you can still do that,' de Blasio insisted Tuesday.
'You want to go in and buy some cannoli and walk out, you can do that.'
Restaurants are required to put up a sign on their doors or windows reading that vaccination is required for customers looking to enter.
Workers at these locations are also required to be vaccinated.
Unvaccinated patrons can still dine in the outdoor dining areas of restaurants.
Office buildings and community and senior centers are not included.
Tucker Carlson hit out at the mandate on his show Tuesday night claiming 'you're no longer allowed to walk indoors, even on private property, unless you've taken a COVID shot and carry the documents to prove that you have'
Avner Balkany, 56, shows his vaccination card while waiting to enter the Museum of Modern Art. He said he was unaware of the city's new vaccination rules but would have nevertheless been prepared to show proof that he was vaccinated
This means almost a quarter of New York adults will no longer be able to enjoy many indoor activities.
To prove proof of vaccination, customers can either show their paper CDC vaccine card - or a photo of it - or use an app such as the Excelsior Pass.
For those who have been vaccinated in other states or countries, there is no universal COVID vaccine app nationwide so they will be required to show a photo or hard copy of their CDC card.
Stacey Widlitz, a retail consultant, told CNBC she got the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine - which is not approved in the US - in the UK.
She said she has already faced difficulties getting into some New York businesses asking for proof of vaccination, saying 'they don't know what to do with a barcode from a foreign country on an app they don't recognize.'
There are also no exemptions based on medical or religious grounds, according the city's website or FAQs about the initiative.
Bizarrely, however, a singer or other performer entertaining a crowd live inside a restaurant does not need to provide proof of vaccination unless they are residents of New York City or they are employees of the Key to NYC establishment.
De Blasio sought to ensure restaurant owners that the initiative will include training for staff on how to deal with confrontations from customers unhappy with the rules.
He announced Tuesday the launch of a huge outreach to roll out the plan that includes a $10 million ad campaign, 600 canvassers and a hotline to support small businesses.
However, the hotline itself is already reportedly facing challenges and the confusion over the mandate even appears to extend to the mayor's office.
Tucker Carlson hit out at the mandate on his show Tuesday night claiming 'you're no longer allowed to walk indoors, even on private property, unless you've taken a COVID shot and carry the documents to prove that you have.'
Carlson said the city's helpline has been inundated with calls from confused staff and patrons, with the operators unable to answer questions on the rules.
Generoso (seen inside Rocco's) said banning unvaccinated customers from eating indoors is discriminatory and is no different to banning people because they are black, Muslim or gay
Generoso vowed to ignore the mandate and has erected a huge sign in Rocco's front window welcoming all customers to dine inside - regardless of their vaccination status (above)
'This rule does not allow for exemptions, period. Not for religious reasons, because religion is stupid, worshiping Bill de Blasio is our new state religion,' said the Fox News' host.
'And not for medical reasons, because Bill de Blasio is now your doctor and he'll decide what is necessary.
'So we asked City Hall in New York to see if we were missing something. They couldn't answer the question, but told us that people who had concerns can contact the city's Small Business Hotline for more information, so, like morons, we did that. We followed instructions.
'The operator on the hotline told us they've been inundated with hundreds of calls from people asking the same question, but they didn't have the answer. Sorry. It's a mystery.'
Carlson added that he later learned from City Hall that 'businesses can't allow unvaccinated customers indoors for 'anything beyond a quick and limited purpose.''
Carlson compared the mandate to the controversies surrounding voter ID laws being introduced in some states and said it will also disproportionately affect communities of color, where vaccine uptake is lower.
'Wait a minute. Weren't we told it's racist to require ID for voting, but now it's not racist to require ID for people to go inside of buildings in our largest city?' he said.
'So what does this mean for the 72 percent of young African Americans who are not vaccinated? They're not going to be able to go anywhere.
'So this policy, by the principles of equity, has a disparate impact. That's the phrase they use to describe racism in action. It affects some groups more profoundly than others. And the group most affected by this is young African Americans.
'So how can it stand? Where's the civil rights division of the Justice Department? Aren't they jumping on this? It's worse than a standardized test.'
Some New York City restaurant owners have echoed these concerns about the mandate being discriminatory, with one diner owner saying that banning unvaccinated customers from eating indoors is discriminatory and is no different to banning people because they are black, Muslim or gay.
Mary Josephine Generoso, manager of Pasticceria Rocco in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, told DailyMail.com the city is 'segregating people' with its new proof of vaccination requirement and warned it is a step back in time before the civil rights movement.
'It's discriminatory - the mayor and the city of New York is asking us to segregate based on vaccine status,' she said.
'To put up a sign saying only vaccinated people can enter is segregating people.
'It would be like changing the words vaccinated and unvaccinated to black and white, or Muslim and Catholic, or gay or heterosexual.
'[De Blasio] is segregating people - it's the same as him saying you can't let a gay person in your business.'
Generoso vowed to ignore the mandate and has erected a huge sign in Rocco's front window welcoming all customers to dine inside - regardless of their vaccination status.
'We do not discriminate against any customer based on sex, gender, race, creed, age, vaccinated or unvaccinated. All customers who wish to patronize are welcome,' the sign reads.
Generoso told DailyMail.com she believes the mayor is creating a divide between New Yorkers based on their vaccination status.
'We are way past the civil rights era where we segregate people,' she said.
'I thought that was behind us but now the mayor is asking us to segregate people and is making a new class of people based on the vaccinated and unvaccinated.'
She warned that people should learn from history the dangers of rolling out such 'discriminatory' practices.
'If people can't see this is discrimination they should read history,' she said. 'This is not America.'
Generoso hit out at de Blasio's claims that the mandate will get the city back on its feet and leave New Yorkers more confident they can dine out safely.
'He said he is unlocking the city of New York. I think he's closing New York,' she said.
Instead, the mandate creates a 'whole host of problems', she said, and is effectively stopping families from going about their lives together.
She gave the example of a family with unvaccinated children aged six and 13.
Children aged 12 and over are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine and officials are urging parents to ensure they have taken the shot before returning to school this month.
Under de Blasio's rules, the 13-year-old will be denied entry to sit inside a restaurant whereas the six-year-old can eat inside with vaccinated adults.
'What if a parent is not ready to vaccinate their 13-year-old?' Generoso asked.
'You're now telling people they can't come to a restaurant and sit down as a family anymore.
'You can't take your child to a ball game anymore or go to the indoor area of a Yankees game.'
Generoso said she disagrees with the opinion of many restaurant bosses who think the new mandate is a positive thing that will help keep staff and customers safe, because COVID-19 is also spreading among the vaccinated.
'The CDC says COVID-19 is still transmissible among vaccinated people so I don't see the difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated people,' she said.
Stratis Morfogen, owner of the Brooklyn Chop House and the Brooklyn Dumpling Shop, echoed Generoso's concerns telling the New York Post the mandate is 'against our constitutional rights and everything we stand for' and likened it to Nazi Germany.
'What are we, the police? Asking our diners to 'Show us ze papers,' like in Nazi Germany?' he said.
Morfogen also pointed to the proliferation of fake vaccine cards which he said sell for around $100 on the black market.
Federal officials have seized thousands of fake vaccine cards so far this year and Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader and a New York Democrat, has called for a clampdown on counterfeit cards.
Morfogen described the whole thing as a 'political sham' adding that 'twelve-year-olds can copy it.'
However, other restaurant industry insiders welcome New York City's new rule.
Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, told DailyMail.com that requiring vaccine status an 'essential step' to protecting both staff and customers.
'Keeping hospitality workers and customers safe from COVID-19 is an essential step toward protecting public health and preventing harsher restrictions that many restaurants and bars would not survive,' he said.
'We support the City's efforts to get more New Yorkers vaccinated and we are already helping restaurants across the five boroughs comply with the new requirements.'
Mayor de Blasio fired back at the backlash in a press conference Tuesday morning (above) saying 'this is not discrimination, it's about protecting people'
However, Rigie said the city needs to train and support restaurants in how to deal with these new policies.
'The City's outreach needs to target education and training for establishments to implement these policies, as they pose operational and economic challenges for understaffed restaurants, bars, and nightclubs struggling to recover,' he said.
'In return for industry businesses playing an extraordinary role in moving New York City forward with this vaccine requirement, City and State governments must support them and the Federal government must replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.'
Leon Ellis, the owner of Chocolate, a restaurant in the city's Harlem neighborhood, said the sacrifices are needed to keep the virus from wreaking more havoc on businesses like his.
'This COVID is a big deal. So we need to do everything that we can to make sure that we get it in check,' he said.
Ellis knows there are details he and his staff still need to work out to fully comply with new rules, but he also knows enforcement won't begin for several more weeks.
'I still have to do my research on it,' he said. 'But whatever the guidelines are, we will comply.'
Joseph Montero, owner of Montero's Bar and Grill in Brooklyn Heights told New York Post: 'Ninety percent of my customers are for it.
'They're happy that I'm doing it because they're telling me that I am safeguarding them and everyone else who's in here. One or two people get huffy and get annoyed. It hasn't hurt business at all.'
NYC gyms such as Crunch Fitness and Nimble Fitness have also been complying with the rules as guests are required to show proof of vaccination before entering.
'Right now we are getting into the swing of things,' Isidro Montero, the district manager of the Manhattan East Sector of Crunch told AMNY.
'We got the classes back, we got the saunas reopened, and then with the new mandate obviously it feels a little safer to be in the club.'
Celene Lucas, director of operations at Nimble Fitness also told AMNY: 'It has been like a moving target and a roller coaster. I think we are really fortunate that we have been able to roll with everything and it is all about our clientele and staff, they have been so supportive and understanding that things are changing and we are just going to have to change it.'
Some restaurants such as Danny Meyer's (above) Union Square Hospitality Group sites have already introduced mandates for staff and customers
Some major restaurant groups had already introduced vaccine mandates for staff and patrons before the city announced its own rule on August 3.
Danny Meyer, who is one of the Big Apple's most renowned restaurateurs, announced on July 29 that all staff at his NYC and Washington DC restaurants must be vaccinated by September 7.
Workers have 45 days to get the shot or find a new job, he said.
All customers who want to eat or drink inside the group's various restaurants must also show proof of vaccination.
The Union Square Hospitality Group includes famed NYC spots such as Gramercy Tavern, The Modern and Union Square Cafe.
Three Michelin-starred Manhattan restaurant Le Bernardin also led the charge, introducing its own mandate ahead of the city.
Renowned chef and owner Eric Ripert faced some backlash on social media after announcing the move but has insisted it is what customers want.
De Blasio pushed back on the criticism in a press briefing Tuesday saying it is key to the Big Apple's return to normalcy.
'We do not want to go back to restrictions. The key to our progress is vaccination,' he said.
'If you want to experience all the greatness that New York City has you can just get the vaccine,' he said.
'This is the way we stay heathy and bring back our city fully.'
When asked about criticism from business owners who describe the mandate as discriminatory, de Blasio said: 'I disagree with that.'
'The reason I also want to say it's not discrimination, this is about protecting people,' he said.
'In our society for generations, we've done all sorts of things to protect people. We have driver's licenses. As you heard from Steve Levin, we've had vaccinations of all kinds.
'There's so many things we do to protect people. This is a way of protecting people.'
Since early August, more than 300,000 more people have gotten at least one shot of a vaccine, according to city data. At least 5.2 million of the city´s 8.8 million residents have gotten at least one shot, with nearly 5 million fully vaccinated.
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