Mounting trash. Closed firehouses. Fewer police and ambulances on the street.
That’s the possibility New York City is bracing for when the city's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for municipal employees officially goes into effect, potentially putting the thousands of municipal workers remain unwilling to get the shots on unpaid leave starting Monday.
Police officers, firefighters, garbage collectors and most other city workers face a 5 p.m. Friday deadline to show proof they’ve gotten at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
A Staten Island judge on Wednesday refused a police union’s request for a temporary restraining order on the mandate, but she ordered city officials into her courtroom next month to explain why the requirement shouldn’t be reversed. If the mandate is deemed illegal, workers put on leave will be given back pay, the city said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio held firm on the mandate as firefighters rallied Thursday outside his official residence, sanitation workers appeared to be skipping garbage pick ups in protest and the city’s largest police union went to an appeals court seeking a halt to the vaccine requirement.
Protesters at the demonstration decried the mandate, with some arguing they believe they have natural immunity to COVID-19, a stance that's contrary to the advice of medical experts, and others believing their right to choose is being denied – despite the stark reality that COVID-19 is the leading cause of death of law enforcement officers in the U.S.
COVID-19 killed 498 officers since the start of 2020 compared to 102 gun deaths, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, which tracks police fatalities.
De Blasio said Thursday that the city has contingencies to maintain adequate staffing and public safety, including mandatory overtime and extra shifts — tools that he said were typically used “in times of challenging crisis.”
The mayor called the sanitation slowdowns “unacceptable” and said that department will move to 12-hour and Sunday shifts to ensure trash doesn’t pile up.
“My job is to keep people safe — my employees, and 8.8 million people,” De Blasio said at a virtual news briefing. “And until we defeat COVID, people are not safe. If we don’t stop COVID, New Yorkers will die.”
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea made a last-minute plea to NYPD staff on Wednesday in a nearly four-minute long video message, obtained by Spectrum News NY1.
“On Monday, when this thing really starts being enforced, we’re going to check the vaccination status and if you’re not vaccinated, no pay and you’re going to be not able to work,” Shea said in the video. “I don’t think anyone wants that to happen. I don’t think you want it to happen. I certainly don’t. We need you out there.”
“We’re at the end of the wire here,” Shea said. “Starting on Monday, you will be put in a no-pay status.”
According to the latest numbers released by City hall on Thursday, the NYPD recorded only a 4% increase in its vaccination rate among employees since a vaccine mandate for city employees was issued last week.
However, on Thursday, with just a day left before the deadline, there was a flurry of activity: The NYPD announced that more than 1,000 additional members of the department had complied with the mandate. But what remains to be seen is whether the NYPD’s numbers will continue to climb before the deadline.
Police Commissioner Shea, who had COVID-19 in January, said his department was sending reminders to workers whose records indicated they hadn’t yet received a shot and that NYPD vaccination sites will remain open all weekend.
“We expected that a lot of the vaccinations would happen toward the end of the deadline,” Mayor de Blasio during his Thursday morning press conference.
Andrew Ansbro, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, blasted the city's vaccine mandate in an interview with Spectrum News NY1's "Mornings On 1" on Friday, calling it "unnecessary."
"Why would the mayor or the commissioner send firefighters home 600 days into this pandemic when there wasn't a problem last year when we asked them to test everybody and they refused?"" he asked. "This is a political game they're playing right now, and the stakes of the game are the lives of New Yorkers."
When pressed about why the union doesn't share vaccine resources or information on its website, Ansbro said the union has worked to educate its members. Ansbro also said the union is not anti-vaccine, but that "some members just don't want it right now," adding that it's about offering a choice.
Ansbro said the union would like to see a vaccine or test option remain, explaining that staff shortages could result in slower emergency response times. He said he did believe more members will get the shot for fear of losing their jobs.
People who refuse to get vaccinated are now a big factor in the continued spread of the virus. Backers of vaccine mandates say New Yorkers have a right not to be infected by public servants unwilling to get the shots.
Nearly one-quarter of city employees covered by the impending mandate have yet to receive at least one vaccine dose as of Thursday, including 26% of police personnel, 29% of firefighters and EMS workers and 33% of sanitation workers, according to city data. City jail guards have another month to comply.
The fire department said it was prepared to close up to 20% of its fire companies and have 20% fewer ambulances in service while changing schedules, canceling vacations and turning to outside EMS providers to make up for expected staffing shortages.
“The department must manage the unfortunate fact that a portion of our workforce has refused to comply with a vaccine mandate for all city employees,” Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said.
Fire department officials are holding virtual meetings with staff, explaining the mandate and imploring them to get vaccinated.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.