“We do not want to go back to restrictions,” de Blasio said during a news conference on Tuesday. “The key to our progress is vaccination.”
It came as museums and art galleries were also told to ask patrons to show proof of vaccination on Monday, according to the mayor’s office.
The mayor announced the so-called “Key to NYC” vaccine mandate earlier in August requiring restaurants, entertainment, and gyms to check the vaccination status of customers and staff aged 12 and older. The mayor didn’t say how 12-year-olds and other minors could get a valid photo ID.
The signs at the Stop Inn went up Monday evening, said a server, to give customers due notice that on Tuesday it would begin complying with the mandate, reported The Associated Press.
Norbu Lama, 17, said he was surprised when a server asked for his vaccination card soon after he slid into a booth with his parents and younger sister.
“We didn’t know we had to bring it,” he told AP. The server appeared relieved when Lama and his family presented copies of their vaccination cards on their phone.
Some business owners criticized the mandate.
Vaccine passport systems have been flagged by civil liberties groups and conservatives for potentially creating a segregated, two-tiered society of vaccinated and unvaccinated people. The concept has also been criticized as an invasion of individuals’ privacy.
