www.qns.com APRIL 1, 2022 6RIDGEWOOD TIMES
Mayor Adams announces unvaccinated performers
and venue workers exempt from vaccine mandates
BY ETHAN MARSHALL
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Mayor Eric Adams announced that
all unvaccinated entertainers,
including athletes, comedians,
singers and dancers, will be allowed to
perform in New York City during a press
conference at Citi Field on Thursday morning,
March 24. He also said the exemption
extends to all workers at the venues where
these take place.
During the press conference, Mayor Adams
emphasized the exemption didn’t just
apply to professional athletes like Kyrie
Irving of the Brooklyn Nets or any unvaccinated
players on the Mets and Yankees.
All the stadium workers who previously
were unable to work due to their unvaccinated
status would be able to do their jobs.
Mayor Adams cited the economic opportunities
for the city as a big reason why
this group was prioritized for exemption.
Unvaccinated people will be able to attend
events, spending money that will help both
the workers there and the city itself grow
financially.
According to Adams, this exemption will
help a lot with eliminating unemployment.
“Unemployment leads to economic unhealthiness
of this city,” Adams said. “This
is the first step toward economic recovery.”
This “nightlife industry,” was a big
source of revenue for the city prior to
the pandemic, according to Adams, who
estimated the value as being around $35.1
billion.
The announcement of this executive order
comes just two weeks before Opening
Day of the MLB season. Prior to the order,
there was concern among the Mets and
Yankees that their unvaccinated players
wouldn’t be able to play in any of their
home games, just like what Brooklyn Nets
star Kyrie Irving has experienced up to
this point during the NBA season.
Mets and Yankees presidents Sandy
Alderson and Jerry Levine mentioned
that a majority of the workers in their
front offices are vaccinated. Alderson
said all but one or two employees were
willing to get vaccinated prior to the exemptions.
However, the one or two who
refused were terminated, as they weren’t
allowed to work at the time. Both Alderson
and Levine said a majority of their team’s
players were vaccinated, but were not at
liberty to provide a precise number due
to the CBA agreement.
Adams acknowledged that there would
be many people critical of his decision
to exempt these parties over the likes of
municipal employees.
“Some people will boo us, but others will
cheer,” Adams said from the Jackie Robinson
Rotunda in Citi Field. “That’s not only
the game of baseball but the game of life.”
When asked about the municipal
employees who were fired for not being
vaccinated possibly getting their jobs
back soon, Adams said that wasn’t going
to happen.
According to Adams, “They were hired
with the understanding that they be
vaccinated.”
If COVID-19 cases remain low in the
coming weeks, Adams hinted that unvaccinated
employees who are unable to work
in other fields may soon be able to work
again. However he has not yet decided
which industries would be next.
“We’ll look for other ways to ease restrictions
in the city,” Adams said.
Adams stressed how reliant he’s been on
his medical team throughout the process
of reopening the city. He said they gave the
green light for him to pass this executive
order.
However, Adams also left the door open
for more restrictions to come back if the
COVID-19 cases begin climbing exponentially
again. New York City has mostly
been able to stave off the new omicron
variant so far, but this executive order will
be the city’s biggest test yet.
Eric Adams speaks about the exemption for certain unvaccinated workers from Citi Field’s Jackie Robinson Rotunda. Photo via Twitter/@nycgov
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