NEW YORK — At United Brothers Fruit Market in Astoria, the layout is so open, you can easily tell if a customer is wearing a mask indoors, even if you’re standing outside.

Starting Monday, however, customers like Fahima Hariti of Astoria, who have gotten accustomed to not wearing masks indoors, will once again have to mask up. While she plans to comply, she’s certainly not thrilled about it.

“We don’t like the mask, but do we have to wear it?” asked Hariti. “Yes we do, and we will!”

This past Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the indoor mask mandate would be returning statewide, with COVID-19 cases rising.

Ahmad Faid has been a manager at the family-run grocery store for 11 years.

While Faid certainly doesn’t want to lose customers who do not want to comply with the mask mandate, he said he would rather enforce it than face a fine of $1,000.

“I’d rather lose the customer,” he said. “I don’t want to pay the fine. I work for a living. As a small business, I try my best, but if you’re not going to follow the rules, then you’re not welcome here.”

Tommy Tentolouris also works in the area, managing the family-run grocery store Mediterranean Foods.

Tentolouris said while he doesn’t expect any uncomfortable confrontations with customers who refuse to wear a mask, he and his staff are ready to hand out masks to any customers who don’t have one.

He said the hefty fine is certainly an incentive for him to enforce the mandate.

“A thousand bucks is steep,” he said. “You don’t want that. We all got to do our thing.”

At this time, the indoor mask mandate does not apply to indoor venues that require proof of vaccination.

The mandate will be in effect through Jan. 15, at which point the state is expected to reassess its effectiveness, based on COVID-19-related public health conditions.