
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — New York City will begin enforcing its vaccine mandate at indoor venues like restaurants and museums on Monday following an initial grace period.

Mayor Bill de Blasio will start sending civilian inspectors into businesses on Sept. 13 to ensure they are following his "Key to NYC" rules that were originally rolled out on Aug. 17.
"We're going to be...using inspectors from 13 city agencies — all civilian, all boroughs, all neighborhoods. So, there's no targeting, it will be across the board with restaurants, indoor entertainment, indoor fitness, and again, our goal here is to confirm compliance," de Blasio said during a news conference on Thursday.
The enforcement comes on the first day of public school and as colder weather will draw more people inside — two factors that have some worrying about an increase in the spread of the delta variant.
Businesses found in violation could face a $1,000 for a first offense and $2,000 for a second. Attendees only need to prove they've received one dose of a coronavirus vaccine in order to participate in indoor activities.
"We want the restaurants and all the other businesses to succeed. No one is starting this out with the intention of fining. We don't want to fine," de Blasio said.
"We just want people to be safe. We want to make sure people are doing things the right way," the mayor added. "And I think the vast, vast majority of businesses are committed to doing it the right way."