In a statement released on Wednesday, New York City’s bullying, incompetent Mayor Bill de Blasio threatened all city workers with unpaid leave if they do not comply with the mandate to get the coronavirus vaccine by October 29.

City workers will receive a $500 incentive payment if they receive at least one dose at a city-run vaccination site before the 5 p.m. on the day of the deadline. The order applies to approximately 160,500 City workers, of which 46,545 are unvaccinated. Those workers who do not comply will be placed on unpaid leave until they are able to show proof of receiving at least one shot.

“The voluntary phase was very long,” de Blasio said Wednesday on MSNBC. “Now we’re saying we need you to do this.”

If those who refuse the vaccine are going to be forced to take it, then it was never voluntary.

In his statement, de Blasio called serving the people of New York City a “privilege” that comes with a “responsibility to keep yourself and your community safe.” He added, “We have led the way against COVID-19 – from fighting for the right to vaccinate frontline workers, to providing nation-leading incentives, to creating the Key to NYC mandate. As we continue our recovery for all of us, city workers have been a daily inspiration. Now is the time for them to show their city the path out of this pandemic once and for all.”

Fact check: there will never be a “path out of this pandemic once and for all” as long as Democrats can exploit it to maintain control and power.

“From the beginning of the de Blasio administration’s haphazard vaccine rollout, we have fought to make the vaccine available to every member who chooses it, while also protecting their right to make that personal medical decision in consultation with their own doctor,” Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York President Patrick J. Lynch wrote in a statement.  “Now that the city has moved to unilaterally impose a mandate, we will proceed with legal action to protect our members’ rights.”