New York City vaccinations mandates are rolling into place, and on Roosevelt Island, a critical business extends the requirement. RIOC and the community in general lag behind, but that may change.
By David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
“The Key to NYC Pass will be a first-in-the-nation approach. It will require vaccination for workers and customers in indoor dining, in indoor fitness facilities, indoor entertainment facilities.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio, Media Availability, August 3rd, 2021
New York City vaccinations took the lead in efforts at spurring the battle against the coronavirus, especially the Delta variant.
The New York City vaccinations mandate
De Blasio said full details will be out in about two weeks. “And then, on September 13th, during that week, we’ll begin inspections and enforcement.”
The city hopes this mandate will make enforcement easier for businesses by making the rules clearer. In a bar, for example, where proof of age is required before being served alcohol, proof of vaccination will play a similar role.
The Delta variant which sent infection rates up past levels not seen since April, this week, sparked a sense of urgency.
While New York City’s vaccination rate is over 70% in some areas, it’s far below that in others. Experts believe 70% is the lowest rate that might support herd immunity.
Roosevelt Island finally reached the 70% threshold, weeks after neighboring communities passed it. Feeble support for anti-coronavirus efforts from RIOC during the Shelton J. Haynes administration certainly plays a role.
In general, the state agency controlled out of Albany, showed itself as unable to master mask mandates as it has been in controlling bicycles.
“RIOC needs to have a conversation with its employees and make better use of PSD,” a reader wrote in an email.
The Roosevelt Island Daily couldn’t agree more, but experience shows the unlikelihood of anything like that happening.
The Roosevelt Island angle…
While punchless responses from RIOC about endless violations of mask mandates on the Tram and Red Buses demonstrate a sturdy disinterest in protecting the public, at least one local business is standing tall.
Related now requires “…all employees to have at least one vaccine dose by August 31 or they will be fired.” Related manages all Southtown residential buildings, and the requirement covers everyone from executives to concierges.
The website 6sqft compiled the list of agencies and businesses stepping up on vaccinations.
New York will require all employees to be vaccinated or tested for COVID weekly, but locally, that means RIOC’s responsible. So hopes are not high.
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Stack Work Advances While Answers Do Not
On June 17 and 18, HPD told the first meeting of the Roosevelt Island Steam Plant Demolition Community Advisory Group that smokestack demolition had no projected start date. Residents and the CAG would receive at least five business days’ advance notice once a date was set. Scaffolding around the stacks could not proceed until soil removal and backfill were complete and the area stabilized.
