The protest started Thursday at around 11 a.m. outside Gracie Mansion. A post on Twitter by “Bravest for Choice” urged first responders to show up at the mayor’s residence, saying, “If you’re not working, you are going.”
People chanted “Let’s go Brandon” and held billboards with messages that included “I AM ANGRY,” “ARREST DE BLASIO” and “COERCION IS NOT CONSENT STOP THE MANDATE.” A woman was dressed as the Statue of Liberty and draped in American flags, and FDNY staffers, nurses, sanitation workers and teachers were in the crowd.
“We worked through this pandemic,” an FDNY officer in his 50s, who requested anonymity due to department policy, told Fox News. “Many of us got sick at that time. There was no vaccination, we put our families at risk, we put ourselves at risk.”
“There’s no reason we should get this shot,” he argued. He said the consequences of the mandate will be disastrous for firefighters and the public. “They can continue the weekly testing.”
Read More: NYC firefighters protest vaccine mandates outside Gracie Mansion, de Blasio’s home
