See New York’s Mayor Face Angry Parents Who Want Kids Unmasked
An angry father upset with New York's mask mandates confronts the NYC Mayor.
When Eric Adams was sworn in as New York City’s 110th Mayor, he knew he had his work cut out for him. The former captain in the New York Police Department was following in the footsteps of the very unpopular former Mayor Bill de Blasio, so Adams knew he had a lot to account for. Of the many issues that faced Adams, New York masks and its mandate were near or at the top of his list.
Two weeks ago, Adams began his task to move New York City out of its COVID-induced doldrums in earnest. It was then that he announced a massive change in the city’s policy, one that de Blasio held firm to, and one that centered around the city’s mask mandate and proof of vaccinations. His new mandate? To end the previous one mandating New York masks.
With that, Adams set out to take down New York masks mandates so smiling faces can be seen again. He made it clear that anyone entering restaurants, pubs, bars, gyms, movie theaters, any place that requires a New Yorker to go inside, will no longer have to show vaccine identification cards to enter as well. He even tossed out a Terminator reference when he spoke about dropping New York masks. “This is clearly an Arnold Schwarzenegger moment,” Adams said via Politico. “We’ll be back.”
Adams understood the destruction the pandemic has caused his city. He saw what New York masks have done to his economy. So, Adams leaned on the high vaccinations rate his city’s population has given him as well as the low levels of new COVID (regardless of variant) cases the city has seen. It was now time to drop New York masks.
“Folks can come in and enjoy the restaurants, the businesses and be a part of this great city without having to show proof of vaccination,” Adams said about his decision to stop de Blasio’s Key to NYC mandate that had the city in an uproar. So, as it pertains to New York City public schools, those in kindergarten through 12th grade will no longer have to mask up. Nor will teachers and staff. Inside public schools are to be mask free. Hallelujah, right? Well, not so fast.
Many millions within the city’s confines will be able to show their pearly whites. Adams even said, “We want to see the faces of our children.” But there is a small fraction of those in the city who will have to remain under wraps, so to speak. They are the very youngest in the crowd. According to Adams’ dropping of New York masks, this will not happen for students under five years old. His reasoning? Kids that age are not eligible to get the vaccine and, according to Adams, have been shown to have severe illness if they contract COVID.
This did not and still does not sit well with angry parents across the large city. As Adams made his way Irish bar hopping to celebrate his first St. Patrick’s Day as New York City Mayor, he was confronted by a number of angry parents who railed him on not dropping the mask mandates for those under five. As you can see in the following video, Adams understands the issue, but says “I got this.”
His back and forth with the concerned father was impressive if you are to believe his words. When the father, holding his small child, presses him on the New York masks issue, Adams first tells the father, “Talk to me, don’t yell. You are sending the wrong message to your daughter.” After a brief pause, Adams continues by telling the man, “I got this. I’ll take care of it. They will be unmasked.”
Apparently, that same father made his thoughts known to the new New York City Mayor before their outside interaction. You can see it below, where the man approached Adams inside a bar. Adams can be heard telling the man, “Listen to me. I’m a dad. Let me do this. I got this. I got this.”
Credit to Mayor Adams for trying to bring back the shine to his once-proud city. It’s a big step Adams is taking by dropping the New York masks mandate as well as the vaccine I.D. requirements. For many though, removing the mask mandate for all in the city, to include those under five years old, will be the ultimate sign that New York City is back.
