Protest outside NYC's Gracie Mansion calls out vaccine mandate
FDNY firefighters, others call out Mayor de Blasio
NEW YORK CITY – New York City firefighters have gathered outside the mayor’s residence to protest a COVID-19 vaccine mandate that threatens to create a staffing "crisis" when it goes into effect.
The protest started Thursday at around 11 a.m. outside Gracie Mansion. A post on Twitter by "Bravest for Choice" urged first responders to show up at the mayor’s residence, saying, "If you’re not working, you are going."
People chanted "Let’s go Brandon" and held billboards with messages that included "I AM ANGRY," "ARREST DE BLASIO" and "COERCION IS NOT CONSENT STOP THE MANDATE." A woman was dressed as the Statue of Liberty and draped in American flags, and FDNY staffers, nurses, sanitation workers and teachers were in the crowd.
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"We worked through this pandemic," an FDNY officer in his 50s, who requested anonymity due to department policy, told Fox News. "Many of us got sick at that time. There was no vaccination, we put our families at risk, we put ourselves at risk."
Protestors gathered outside Gracie Mansion Thursday morning to protest Mayor Bill de Blasio's vaccine mandate. The mandate goes into effect starting Oct. 29, 2021. (Rebecca Rosenberg/Fox News Digital)
"There’s no reason we should get this shot," he argued. He said the consequences of the mandate will be disastrous for firefighters and the public. "They can continue the weekly testing."
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s mandate would require all first responders in New York City to have at least the first shot of a vaccine regimen by 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 29 or go on leave without pay starting the following Monday.
Protestors gathered outside Gracie Mansion Thursday morning to protest Mayor Bill de Blasio's vaccine mandate. The mandate goes into effect starting Oct. 29, 2021. (Rebecca Rosenberg/Fox News Digital)
Around 75% of the NYPD and 68% of FDNY workers have been vaccinated, city officials said.
The FDNY would face significant closures, with 20% fewer ambulances to run calls and 20% fewer fire companies available. FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said Thursday morning that the department will use all resources to ensure "continuity of operations."
Protestors gathered outside Gracie Mansion Thursday morning to protest Mayor Bill de Blasio's vaccine mandate. The mandate goes into effect starting Oct. 29, 2021. (Rebecca Rosenberg/Fox News Digital)
A resident nurse from Queens, who declined to share her name, said she was "against injecting something into our bodies that hasn't been fully studied yet." Her hospital terminated her contract on Oct. 1 for refusing the jab.
Other workers face similar consequences come Monday.
"I’m on the chopping block come Monday," said Jonathan Vasquez, a NYC Department of Sanitation worker who held a sign that read "I WILL NOT COMPLY Essential Workers." "I’m not vaccinated, I’m not getting vaccinated and it’s for multiple reasons, most importantly freedom of choice, my body, my health."
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Unions for both departments have filed separate lawsuits against the city, which have so far been unsuccessful. A Staten Island judge on Wednesday denied the NYPD union request for relief against the order.
