Mayor refuses to enforce private employer vaccine mandate audacity

Since Mayor Eric Adams entered office, his administration has not inspected private companies for compliance with the city’s COVID-19 mandate, the mayor’s office confirmed Tuesday.

Adams’ predecessor, Bill de Blasio, created a mandate that forced all private employers to require their workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The rule was not implemented until his final days in office.

Over five days from Dec. 27 to Dec. 31 — the only days there was enforcement — 3,025 businesses were inspected, but only 31% of them complied with the mandate, Adams’ spokesperson Fabien Levy confirmed.

Newsday was the first to report the inspection data and the new administration’s enforcement policy.

de Blasio threatened to fine businesses $1,000 and increase the fine after each offense.However, no businesses were ever fined, and once Adams became mayor on Jan. 1, the inspections stopped entirely.

“We have been focused on prioritizing education instead of enforcement when it comes to the private sector mandate, which is how we’ve been able to get more than 87 percent of all New Yorkers with their first dose to date,” a spokesperson for Adams said.

Instead of fining businesses, the mayor’s office has distributed more than 30,000 informational pamphlets through their Vax4All teams. Adams does not plan on starting to fine businesses, sources said.

“The numbers are showing that the strategy we put in place is a winning strategy,” Adams said at an unrelated press conference Wednesday. “We did not have to go in and penalize. We had to continue the conversation, and we are winning. We are successfully navigating [COVID-19].”