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.
More from the Roosevelt Island Daily
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- College Point Community Responds After Senior Dog Taken From Front LawnA College Point senior dog was taken from her front lawn, sparking a neighborhood response and NYPD investigation. Learn how the community is working together after a senior dog was taken from front lawn.
- Queens Child Death Investigation: Family and Community React as NYPD Probes TragedyGet the latest on the Queens child death investigation. NYPD continues to probe after a 5-year-old was found unresponsive in Richmond Hill, as the family and community grapple with the tragic event.
- Queens 5-Year-Old Girl’s Death Under Investigation After Mother’s 911 CallPolice are investigating the death of a 5-year-old girl in Queens after a 911 call from her mother. Authorities are gathering evidence while the community mourns.
- NYPD Use-of-Force Policy Reform Announced After Rozario ShootingMayor Mamdani announced NYPD use-of-force policy reform following the Rozario shooting, introducing new procedures, oversight measures, and transparency protocols across New York City.
What the Promenade Remembers
The light on the East River in the early morning is different from the light anywhere else on the Island. It comes in low and sideways, catching the water in long, uneven flashes. On certain days it makes the promenade feel less like a walkway and more like a corridor someone once meant to finish but never quite did. When I was younger I found the suggestion to stop and look at it faintly ridiculous.
