(Google Maps, July 2019)
Diamond Rush Jewelry opened its doors at 200 West 96th Street in 2019. The shop’s Facebook page displays beautiful custom pieces, exquisite diamond engagement rings, Rolex watches and other gorgeous jewelry. It’s a hidden gem (pun intended) nestled between a convenience store and an empty storefront. But a sign printed on the store’s entrance door has been drawing attention for another reason. It reads, “No Masks Allowed. Take Off Your Mask Before Entering.”
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On the popular neighborhood app Nextdoor, a local resident posted a photo of the sign, and opinions began pouring in. Some took the opportunity to attack the government and the way COVID is being handled, saying things like “You people are out of control… Go get your 50th booster and you’ll be fine,” while others took the opposing view, with comments like “They should be boycotted. 10025 had the highest number of Omicron cases this week…”
Yet others questioned the legality of it, stating that “It discriminates against people who have health issues that require masks.” Retired Judge Dierdra Tompkins weighed in, sharing that “A private business probably can do whatever it wishes.” Another resident even speculated that it’s “probably for attention… I never realized there was a jewelry shop there and I go by it at least 6-7 times a day.” Many people posited that it was for security purposes as “it’s a jewelry store and there’s already plexiglass up, so the mask isn’t needed.”
This last hypothesis was correct. ILTUWS called Diamond Rush and spoke to a representative who told us they are asking people to remove their masks because they’ve been robbed quite a few times — and the masks allow people to maintain a level of anonymity, making it harder to identify them through surveillance cameras. Whether or not this sign will discourage robberies remains to be seen, as another commenter asked if “robbers [are] easily deterred by signs asking them to remove their masks?” When we asked if a person would be allowed to enter with a medical mask on, he kindly told us yes; if they needed it to feel comfortable it would be allowed.
I always thought that place was just a pawn shop. People actually buy jewelry there??
Perhaps if they explained their rationale in the sign, they could avoid a lot of controversy.
when it coms to managing a crises NY & Calif are the bottom of the barrel
why can’t we succeed like so many other citys?
NY was the Epicenter, and Florida had no infections.. NOW florida has more infections and more deaths than NY
Vince, You could not be more WRONG. Stop with the lies and fake news. Despite NY and CA being fairly dense population centers, they are doing very well when compared to most red states. Sort this page by deaths /1M population to see how they rank. Sorry to confuse you with the facts.
People go far, far out of their way to be losers, hilarious, especially since it will for sure cost them some business, why bring that on yourself? Pretty sure they can’t enforce this, but definitely won’t affect me, and a good heads-up to steer clear.
Ah ok, I missed a paragraph, so maybe less mean-spirited but the rest of what I say holds.
By not providing an explanation the sign is going to deter customers, not robberies.
Judge Tompkins is wrong. The business is a “public accomodation” not private property. It is a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to discriminate against all those who choose not to wear a mask. Those who believe there is an “emergency” going on presumably base their beliefs on PCR testing which does not measure infection. “Case numbers” are meaningless as they do not take into account that the vast majority of people are either asymptomatic or have “mild flu-like” symptoms. The idea that asymptomatic people can still “infect” “vulnerable” patients was even contradicted by Dr. Fauci when he opined that pandemics are not usually thought of as being fueled by asymptomatic transmission. What’s more the vast majority of “vulnerable” patients are elderely who already have pre-existing conditions.
Certainly no emergency. The dead are simply taking their political opinions to another spiritual plane.
By far the most intelligent response was from you!
I would pay people with COVID to go shop there with no mask
Good for them. I have the same rule at home. No clot shots or face diapers here.
I am with you, Derek!
I’m with you both!
Thank g*d I live in NYC where there is ‘choice’..I’ll make mine Tiffanys..where I can wear a mask and buy a ring without being pilloried for my politics..
This business is required to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If they are open to anyone, as opposed to a membership-only invitation-only club, they are “public” for purposes of that law. When I used to get turned away from businesses for having a guide dog, the police would erroniously say that it was private and I should contact the Better Business Bureau. Now they respond and tell the proprietors they have to let me in. So *someone* official has learned the law, but when a judge can make such a statement and a newspaper report it without fact-checking, then disabled people don’t have any rights in practice and the “law” isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. In this case the business seems to have just used poor judgement in the wording of a sign. But someone wearing a mask because they are immuno compromised or other health/medical issue is theoreticly as entitled to enter any business anyone else is. As I am routinely kept out of restaurants and denied service by other entities, including city and state agencies, either by outright rejection or “inadvertent” access barriers, the law has been worthless to me. Most of the lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who passed the law were not disabled, neither were the majority of the public they represented. So, my non-disabled neighbors, if the ADA is *your* will, start spreading the word and demanding that elected officials and the press learn about the law.
It’s shocking that 30 years after the ADA was passed, businesses are still discriminating.
In the meantime, food places on the UWS, supermarkets and bakeries alike, let in customers with pets. When I pointed it out to one store manager they said maybe it’s a,service animal. I had to point out that another feature of the ADA is that business owners are allowed to inquire in a certain way about an animal. They shrugged.
So here we still are, people getting away with distorting a law while others make it harder for legit needs like Andre’s.