NYC business owner blasts 'ridiculous' possibility of booster shot mandate
Mary Josephine Generoso, manager of Pasticceria Rocco in Brooklyn, has filed a lawsuit against the city over the vaccine mandates.
New York City business owners are pushing back against outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Mary Josephine Generoso filed a lawsuit against the mandate and joined "Fox & Friends" to voice opposition to the potential of newly mandated booster shot.
Generoso, who is the manager of Pasticceria Rocco in Brooklyn, said the possibility of another mandate is "absolutely, absolutely ridiculous."
"It’s infringing on our liberties," she told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade.
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"The mayor is asking store owners, business owners, restaurant owners to start policing people as they come into a restaurant to sit down."
Mayor Bill de Blasio hasn’t confirmed a mandate for the COVID booster shots, but he said in an interview Friday that the current regulations will be updated as needed to address the newly emerging variant.
"We’re dealing with some new challenges at this moment," de Blasio said on the Brian Lehrer Show. "So we’re going to keep updating policies regularly to meet this challenge."
Generoso, however, said it is not her responsibility to be the "vaccination police."
She displayed a sign in her storefront window that welcomes all patrons regardless of vaccination status.
"It’s really about protecting civil liberties," she said. "Somebody should be able to come in – vaccinated or not – sit down, have a cup of coffee, enjoy time with their family."
FILE PHOTO: A demonstrator holds a sign during a protest by New York City Fire Department (FDNY) union members, municipal workers and others, against the city's COVID-19 vaccine mandates on Manhattan's Upper East Side, in New York City, New York, U.S., October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
Generoso, so far, has not received backlash or been reprimanded by the city for the sign.
She also advertised two open positions for her restaurant in Manhattan with a note that she will not require vaccination.
She said New York City has been "completely devastated" by the labor shortage and said she works between 70 and 80 hours each week to keep her business afloat.
"It’s hard to find employees. It’s hard to find people to work. Now we’re putting another thing over them that they need to be vaccinated in order to come in and get a job."
New York's Mayor Bill de Blasio makes declarations at a mass vaccination site at Yankee Stadium. (REUTERS/Carlo Allegri)
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She called the mandates destructive and warned against looking down on people simply because of their vaccination status.
"I really would love to implore the mayor to really take a look at what he’s doing, because he’s doing more harm than good."
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