A New York state judge on Tuesday denied a request for a preliminary injunction of New York City’s vaccine mandate for city employees. Under the new mandate, city employees must prove their vaccination status by October 29, 2021. A weekly COVID-19 testing option is available “only if an employer has granted an employee a reasonable accommodation.”

Plaintiffs, including the Police Benevolent Association of New York (PBD), filed a lawsuit in state court on Monday and requested a temporary injunction. The Honorable Lizette Colon declined to sign the injunction.

In their complaint, plaintiffs contend that the city’s mandate is “far broader and more coercive than measures adopted by the federal government,” and “the City rolled out the Mandate at a time of low and declining COVID-19 infection rates in the City.”

According to the New York City Department of Health, the daily average number of COVID-19 cases over the last 28 days is 1,177. The daily average is on a downward trend, but the Department maintains that “the number of COVID-19 cases remains high in New York City and around the U.S. This is largely due to the spread of the more contagious delta variant and the large number of people who are still unvaccinated.”

Officers who are not vaccinated by October 29 will be placed on unpaid leave. PBA President Patrick Lynch said Judge Colon’s failure to grant the injunction “sets up the city for a real crisis,” and New Yorkers should blame Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Shea for “any shortfall in city services” once the mandate takes effect.