You are reading

Grocery Stores Should Require Customers to Wear Masks Inside Store: Mayor

Fresh N Save 46th and Greenpoint Ave. Sunnyside (Photo: QueensPost)

April 15, 2020 By Allie Griffin

New York City grocery stores should require customers to wear a face covering or mask while shopping amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Bill de Blasio said today.

“I’m giving the guidance to all supermarkets and groceries — require customers, require customers to wear face coverings when they come in,” de Blasio said at a press briefing this morning.

He said stores should put up a sign at the entrance requiring shoppers to wear a face covering in order to enter the store.

The mayor said every store has the right to make the requirement.

“That is legal and appropriate,” de Blasio said. “The City will back you up.”

Any customer who refuses to wear a mask can be denied entry into the grocery store and if there’s a problem with compliance, store employees can call 311 to have police officers come and assist them, he added.

“It’s the smart thing to do for the health of all New Yorkers and the City of New York will back you up.”

The mayor called grocery store workers the “unsung heroes in this fight.”

“These are folks just trying to make a living for their families,” de Blasio said. “They did not expect to be on the frontlines of an international crisis, but they’re acting with the same resolve and the same spirit as all our other heroes.”

He said New Yorkers owe a lot of appreciation and respect to the workers and their families.

“Let’s give a lot of appreciation, a lot of respect to the people who make sure we get fed,” the mayor said. “Those grocery store workers, those supermarket workers — they get up everyday, they go to work, it’s a tough job.”

The Mayor’s Office is also working with supermarket and grocery store companies to ensure store employees get PPE supplies, he added.

email the author: [email protected]

2 Comments

Click for Comments 
Merman

Great idea. You know what would be even better? The grocery stores giving out government provided masks at the entrances. I cannot find masks anywhere, and I do not have a sewing machine. I have improvised, but doubt my makeshift mask is very effective.

Reply
LIC Tea

I’ve been using a bandana lately, or a light scarf may work as well. It’s a shame about the masks, and I doubt the government (federal or local) will be getting those to us any time soon. In the meantime, a bandana or scarf is washable and able to be re-used. Hope this helps! : )

Reply

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

MTA seizes 19 ‘ghost’ cars registered to toll violators at Queens Midtown Tunnel on Monday

Two days before the MTA Board approved the controversial congestion pricing plan for Manhattan on Wednesday, the agency cracked down on persistent toll violators at the Queens Midtown Tunnel in Long Island City.

MTA Bridges and Tunnels seized 19 vehicles registered to persistent scofflaws on Monday and issued 81 summonses and confiscated two fraudulent incense plates. The MTA noted that the scofflaws accounted for approximately $483,000 in combined unpaid tolls and fees. One of the top persistent toll violators from the targeted enforcement owed nearly $76,000 in tolls and fees.