Incoming pol defiant over council vax rule
A Queens councilwoman-elect is gearing up for a showdown with her new City Council colleagues over rules that mandate members and their staff be vaccinated against coronavirus.
Vickie Paladino, a GOP firebrand from Whitestone, told The Post last week that “under no circumstances” will her staff be required to reveal their vaccination status.
“Should the mandates continue indefinitely, my office is exploring all available options to protect the livelihoods and liberty of my constituents, staff and all New Yorkers,” Paladino said.
People close to Paladino said the 67-year-old small-business owner is not vaccinated. She refused to confirm or deny her vax status, saying it was a “private matter between myself and my physician.” She would be the only known member of the 51-member City Council who is unvaccinated.
“Like tens of thousands of fellow New Yorkers, I believe the mandates are counterproductive and crippling to our economy and deeply divisive socially,” she said.
“I maintain hope that Mayor Adams will break from the failed policies of the de Blasio administration and rescind all emergency powers shortly into our new term and allow life in NYC to return to normal, as it already has throughout much of America.”
In a Nov. 8 e-mail to council members and staff, Charles Davis, interim director of administrative services, said all members needed to be jabbed — no exceptions.
“Beginning November 15, 2021, no one who works at the Council will be permitted to work at City Hall and/or 250 Broadway offices, or at any Council Member district office, if they have not provided the required proof of vaccination. This includes the Speaker, Council Members, Central staff, and Council Member aides, as well as any interns or volunteers,” he wrote.
Opposition to vaccine mandates deeply animates the GOP base, and Paladino made it a signature issue of her campaign. She upset veteran Democrat Tony Avella by less than 400 votes.
The vaccine issue has been circulating among the small conference of City Council Republicans. On Nov 12, Joe Borelli, the chamber’s newly elected minority leader from Staten Island, said he had a conversation with Paladino about the issue and “advised her to the council’s policy.”
“I have no interest in forcing her to get vaccinated,” Borelli said, adding that it would be possible for her to vote remotely.
Both Borelli and Paladino are holding out hope that a new speaker will introduce rules to lift the City Council mandate.
Democratic council members expressed concern about an unvaccinated member.
“Of course, it makes me uncomfortable. We know that vaccinations save lives and reduce the risk of spread and reduce hospitalization,” one member said.
“We all lived through last year, and with an uptick in positivity rates with the holidays coming up and winter upon us, it’s more important now than ever that everyone is vaccinated.”