New Information from the City

There has been a lot of important information announced from Mayor de Blasio and the City over the past week regarding the reopening of public schools, the Key to NYC mandate and The New York City Council bills. Read below to learn more on these updates.

Mayor de Blasio has laid out a series of safety protocols for the reopening of schools. All students and staff will be required to wear masks, and each classroom will have two air purifiers. The City will test a random sample of 10% of unvaccinated people in schools every other week, a group that will include only students later this fall after all adults will be required to be fully vaccinated. Additionally, when someone in a classroom tests positive, only unvaccinated close contacts will have to quarantine for 10 days. Buildings will close for 10 days if there is evidence of widespread transmission. Learn more here.

New York City has updated the requirements of the Key to NYC vaccination mandate. Nonresident contractors who perform work in covered premises must now show proof of receiving at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to enter such premises. Additionally, New York City-based athletes who enter a covered premise, such as a sports arena, as part of their regular employment for a competition must now be vaccinated. Nonresident professional athletes or sports teams based outside of New York City and nonresident individuals accompany such athletes or teams remain exempt. And fast food employers can terminate employees who fail to provide proof of vaccination as long as the worker was given 30 days from the date their employer notified them of the requirement to provide proof of vaccination and the employee was placed on an unpaid leave until submitting such proof. To learn more about these updates and the Key to NYC program, check out an updated FAQ from the City.

The New York City Council has passed a number of important bills that will affect businesses. The City Council has passed a bill to raise fines on price gouging and false advertising. The legislation updates and increases penalties, sometimes up to $3,500 on all businesses. The City Council has also passed two bills on food delivery services. The first bill requires most third-party delivery companies to be licensed in New York City, which will strengthen all the new laws and give the City authority to revoke, suspend or not renew the licenses for bad actors. The second bill will make the temporary fee cap for third-party delivery fees permanent. All of these bills will now go to Mayor de Blasio, who is expected to sign them into law.

We will continue to provide City updates as they are announced. In the meantime, visit nyc.gov for the latest information. 

Photo credit: Michael Appleton / Mayoral Photography Office