Bay Ridge Eatery Defies NYC’s Vaccine Mandate; Welcomes All Patrons

Edited by: TJVNews.com

Despite the fact that New York City has become the first city in the United States to impose their own version of the vaccine passport mandate which would require all those who wish to partake of indoor dining at city restaurants to present proof that they have been vaccinated, many NY restaurant owners are not particularly pleased with this idea.

Restaurant owners are scrambling to bounce back financially from a devastating year and do not want to turn off tourists and others who wish to dine indoors but (for their own reasons) are opposed to the Covid vaccination.

The official name of the Big Apple vaccine mandate rule is the “Key to NYC” program. Not everyone, however, opposes it. According to a recent article in the New York Post, the vaccine mandate has received support from such high-profile restaurateurs as Danny Meyer of the Gramercy Tavern and Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin, as well as the owners of Sylvia’s in Harlem.

Beginning September 13th, the city will launch inspections at restaurants, indoor entertainment venues and gyms, to make sure everyone entering has been doubly vaccinated. Others on the restaurant scene have opined that the new rule will not be enforceable and that fraud may occur.

One of the first eateries to pipe up with their expression of staunch opposition to the vaccine mandate rule that was originally announced by New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio on August 3rd was Pasticceria Rocco, a pastry shop and diner in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn.

In the immediate aftermath of DeBlasio’s vaccine mandate announcement, the management of Pasticceria Rocco put up a sign in their front window that says: “We do not discriminate against any customer based on sex, gender, race, creed, age, vaccinated or unvaccinated. All customers who wish to patronize are welcome.”

Mary Josephine Generoso, who manages the popular Bay Ridge pastry shop told the New York Post, “For me, it’s not political; most of my customers are vaccinated. It’s about civil liberties and freedoms. Now we have to be in a society where people can’t roam freely and enter my place of business if they want to? How is that OK in the United States of America?”

Ms. Generoso told the Post that she has not lodged any formal complaints about the new vaccine mandate with officials from the city and admitted she isn’t exactly sure what she’ll do if they show up at her door.

“It’s scary. I feel like we will be made an example of,” Generoso told the Post, “It is really hard to go up against a machine, and that’s what we are up against. Honestly, I put the sign up because I was hoping that other business owners would also have the courage to speak out. But it is mainly our customers who have reached out in support.”