A group of small businesses is suing New York City, hoping to stop the city’s first vaccination mandate for restaurants, gyms and other indoor public places.
The cause, filed Tuesday in the Richmond County Supreme Court, has the support of prominent Republican elected officials, including Representative Nicole Malliotakis and City Council member Joe Borelli; both represent Staten Island.
The city requires customers and employees of restaurants and some other businesses to show proof of vaccination. Complainants say the city unfairly targets struggling businesses during the pandemic and that there should be exemptions for people with certain medical conditions or religious beliefs.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said the vaccine’s mandate and other measures are needed to limit a worrying increase in coronavirus cases, due in part to the more contagious Delta variant, and to encourage more New Yorkers to come forward. get vaccinated. New cases in the city rose to an average of more than 1,700 per day, from around 250 per day in early July. About 68% of the city’s adult residents are fully immunized.
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