Firefighters threaten New York state senator over mandate as city braces for possible staff shortage

Driving a ladder truck and wearing their uniforms on Friday morning, six firefighters stopped at the Brooklyn office of New York state Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D) to protest Mayor Bill de Blasio’s (D) order requiring all city workers to show proof of vaccination, a move that underscores the rising tensions over officials’ attempt to return to pre-pandemic life.

The group told Myrie’s staffers about 10:30 a.m. that they would have “blood on their hands” if de Blasio’s deadline for approximately 160,500 city employees to receive at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine was not suspended. It went into effect Friday at 5 p.m.

Matt Baer, director of policy and communications at the state senator’s office, said the firefighters also asked where the senator lived. While vaccination across the city’s departments has increased since the mandate was announced Oct. 20, the decision has been met with backlash — leading to concerns over shortages among the city’s essential workers.

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