New York City's vaccine mandate began on Sept. 13. It requires proof of vaccination entry to certain public spaces, including gyms, restaurants, and bars, unless a person has an approved medical exemption.

New York officials call the program the "Key to NYC Pass."

Hawk Newsome, the co-founder and chairman of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York (BLMGNY), argues the mandates are fundamentally racist, given the low rate of vaccination in the black community.

Some 85.6 percent of black people in the state of New York remain without one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to state data.

"I think, in a perfect world, [vaccine requirements] should be business by business. But it could be a slippery slope, so the mandate should be removed completely," Newsome told the Washington Examiner.