Paladino barred from Council floor after flouting vax rules
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District 19 City Councilmember Vickie Paladino watches her colleagues on the floor of the council after she was unable to enter the floor because she has yet to show proof of vaccination on Wednesday. Photo via Paladino/Twitter
By Jacob Kaye
Queens Councilmember Vickie Paladino was barred from entering the council’s chamber floor Wednesday, her first day in office, after she refused to show proof of vaccination.
In a social media message sent by the freshman Republican representing District 19, Paladino said that council officials told her that several of her colleagues had expressed concern that she had yet to submit her vaccine status.
“Our government is now interfering with a duly elected representative's right to access the mechanisms of office,” Paladino said.
While she didn’t protest Wednesday, casting her vote to elect City Councilmember Adrienne Adams as speaker from inside Minority Leader Joe Borelli’s office, she told the speaker it was the only time she’d comply, Paladino said.
“I also made it clear that this courtesy would only be for today, and that I will fight the mandates with every resource available,” Paladino said. “Going forward, if anyone has a problem with me in the chamber, they will have to remove me.”
Paladino did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Paladino’s colleague, Republican City Councilmember Joann Ariola, who previously served as the head of the Queens County Republican Party, referred the Eagle to a statement from the council’s Republican caucus when asked for comment.
“We fully support City Council Member Vickie Paladino’s right to make her own, personal medical decisions, and feel strongly that her decisions should not restrict her from performing any of her duties as a duly elected member of this legislative body, including attending public meetings in person,” the GOP members said in a statement. “There is no evidence to suggest Council Member Paladino, as long as she regularly tests negative for COVID, poses any real threat by entering the Council Chambers, where all attendees are fully masked and socially distanced.”
“Council Member Paladino is a valuable Member of this Delegation, and we expect her to be back in Chambers soon,” they added.
Councilmembers and their staff are required to show proof of vaccination, per council rules.
"In the wake of the order issued by the City’s Health Commissioner requiring city employees be vaccinated, the City Council adopted a policy in the fall that no one who works at the Council is permitted to work at City Hall, 250 Broadway, or any Council District Office unless they have provided proof of vaccination,” a council spokesperson said in a statment to the Eagle. “That remains the policy of the City Council. There will be no exceptions absent a valid request for a medical or religious accommodation.”
“The protection of the health and safety of our staff and Council Members is of the highest priority to the Council,” the spokesperson added.
In November, Paladino promised that she would fight the vaccine mandate, both in the council and throughout the city, and said she wouldn’t require her staff to get the jab, according to reporting by the New York Post.
It’s not the first time Paladino has flouted COVID-19 precautions.
In December 2020, Paladino led a conga line at a holiday party thrown by the Whitestone Republican Club, which she served as the head of, inside of Il Bacco Restaurant in Little Neck.
A spokesperson for the political club, at the time, denied the group had violated COVID restrictions, saying the party was thrown days before then-Governor Cuomo reinstituted a ban on indoor dining amid the winter surge.
Paladino was elected to the City Council seat representing Whitestone, College Point, Bayside, Little Neck, Douglaston and parts of North Flushing, in November after beating out Democrat and former State Senator Tony Avella by around 400 votes.
Clarification: This story has been updated to reflect that Paladino was not removed from the City Council floor Wednesday, but, instead, voluntarily did not enter the floor after being told she wouldn’t be allowed on the floor because of her lack of proof of vaccination.
Update: This story was updated at 6:10 p.m., on Friday, Jan. 7, with a statment from a City Council spokesperson.
