Vaccines, Masks, and Fake Vax Cards: Welcome to New York City Nightlife in the COVID Era
As the city reopened, NYC’s bars and clubs have made a comeback. But how has nightlife changed?
Walking around Manhattan’s East Village on a Saturday night, as flocks of young people pile into deep lines outside the bars on St. Marks Place; as college students churn in the at the door of Phebe’s tavern, gripping their fake ID’s and whispering to their buddies anxiously before meeting the bouncer; as the dance music and strobe lights from the Niagara nightclub spill out onto the sidewalk and sweaty men emerge from the doors, maskless and laughing, it seems the threat of COVID is gone, and the emptiness of New York City’s bars, clubs and streets seen this past year is now a distant memory.
Since the reopening of New York City this past summer, the nightlife industry has attempted to revamp itself, and reclaim its previous hold on New York City’s partygoers. However, with vaccine mandates, paired with a hesitancy toward large crowds, it comes with little surprise that nightlife, although still active, looks different than its pre-pandemic self. Now, partygoers and those in the industry are learning to adapt.
In early September, the city began enforcing proof of vaccinations upon entry to indoor dining, which included both bars and clubs.
Jenna Szoke, a bartender at the popular Lower East Side bar, 310 Bowery, noticed an immediate effect at work. “Traffic is a lot slower,” Szoke explained. “People will still come in, and weekends are busy, but Sunday’s and weekdays are a lot less crowded.”
Yet Szoke has found that despite COVID being the most popular conversation topic, masks are still a rarity among customers. “I’m always kind of shocked when I see someone wearing a mask inside,” she claims. “Everyone’s always at the bar talking about the virus, but generally no one is wearing a mask. The people that do wear them though are usually angry that more people aren’t.”
Not only have these mandates affected customer trends and conversations, but they have given bar staff a responsibility they’ve never had before: checking if someone received their vaccination.
Now, instead of only weeding out fake IDs, bouncers have begun searching for fake vaccination cards, the new necessity for underage partiers.
Christina, an underage student at New York University, who has asked to only be referred to by her first name, has capitalized off her peers’ needs for a vaccination card that labels them as 21 or older. She now runs a mini-business, in which she edits pictures of people’s real vaccination cards, changing the name or birthday to match the ones on their fake IDs. Christina calls herself a “low-key entrepreneur.”
“It all started when my little sister was coming to visit and I reminded her that she needs to bring her vaccination card to get into any restaurants,” Christina recalled. “She asked me how she was going to be able to drink because the birthday on her vax card is three years younger than the one on her fake ID, and that’s when it hit me… all my friends are going to have to change theirs.”
Christina, adept in Photoshop, now has people send her pictures of their real vaccination cards, along with their desired name and age, and matches the handwriting to create a new, semi-fake vaccination card, charging peers a hefty $10 for her strenuous five minutes of work.
When asked if she feels any guilt for what is technically a crime, Christina said it’s not like she’s faking their vaccinations. “I won’t like forge an actual shot, I’m only editing the name and birthdays”, she claims. “Everyone already has fake IDs, we’re college students. If anything, I’m just making fake IDs more believable.”
For bouncers however, finding fake vaccine cards is a high-stakes task. Gerald Johnson, 35, a bouncer at the popular East Village hot-spot, Bar None, has explained, “If police come, and they find three people with fake cards or who aren’t vaccinated, they’ll shut the whole club down. It’s like a $10,000 fine per person too.”
To his knowledge however, Johnson has not yet had any encounters with fake vaccine cards. “We have a machine that tells us if IDs are fake, so usually that catches people before I even have to look at their card,” Johnson claimed.
Despite his new responsibilities, Johnson has found that New Yorkers have a new outlook when going out. “There’s less fighting and less arguing now,” he explained. “Since people were locked up with COVID for so long, they appreciate going out more. It makes my job easier.”
“Everyone’s just happy to be back out,” says Johnson.
Source List:
Jenna Szoke, 310 Bowery, 702–465–7795
Christina, allowing me to interview her, asked to please not include her last name
Gerald Johnson, 35, Bar None bouncer, MOS interview
