New York businesses are struggling to abide by the state’s mask and vaccination rules, with one gym alone seeing 200 membership suspensions or cancelations over the coercive rules thrust upon business owners by the Democrat governor.
This month, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) issued an ultimatum to businesses, requiring them to either check the vaccination status of customers or require masks across the board. The state will not revisit the rule until January 15, 2022. But now, businesses which were already struggling due to extended lockdowns and restrictions are facing yet another uphill battle.
In order to comply with the rules, ABC Sports & Fitness in Latham, New York, opted to ban the unvaccinated from the gym, even though the gym co-owner Matt Doheny said “denying people exercise goes against his beliefs,” according to the Wall Street Journal. However, the state’s new rules — masks or vaccine checks, placed him in the undesirable position. According to the outlet, patrons did not take kindly to being told to wear masks in the gym.
That prompted Doheny’s decision, which resulted in “about 200 of ABC’s 7,000 members” either canceling or suspending their memberships. According to WSJ, “roughly 100 other people signed up after quitting nearby gyms that were requiring masks.”
Personal trainer Ashley Zimmerman workouts at TS Fitness in New York City. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
Notably, WSJ acknowledged the struggle of these businesses but seemed to attribute the difficulties to the pandemic itself — not the extended lockdowns, restrictions, and rules that politicians have thrust on businesses for the past two years:
New York gyms face a tricky choice as they try to rebuild after being battered by the pandemic. The mandate could cause paying members to leave, industry analysts said, because some may be unvaccinated or not want to run on a treadmill with their faces covered. Before the new rules, many gyms had operated on an honor system, telling the unvaccinated to wear a mask.
Other gyms in the state, including Planet Fitness as well as New York Sports Clubs, will require masks while working out rather than checking vaccination status.
Meanwhile, some New York counties have made it clear that they will not enforce Hochul’s mandates. The Democrat governor was forced to backtrack last week, however, after suggesting that the state would supply millions of dollars in support for counties complying her rules and provide state inspectors to conduct “spot checks” for mandate compliance.
Her office later said enforcement will be done “by local health departments.”