IN RE: The NEW YORK CITY MUNICIPAL LABOR COMMITTEE etc. (2023)

Order and judgment (one paper), Supreme Court, New York County (Richard Latin, J.), entered on or about January 20, 2023, which denied the petition seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against respondents’ determination to exclude employees of the City of New York (City) from the repeal of the COVID–19 vaccination requirement for other employees, effective November 1, 2022, and dismissed this hybrid CPLR article 78 proceeding and action, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

This proceeding is moot because the vaccination mandate for City employees was rescinded in February 2023 (see Cornell Univ. v. Bagnardi, 68 N.Y.2d 583, 592, 510 N.Y.S.2d 861, 503 N.E.2d 509 [1986];  Matter of New York State Constr. Safety Assn. v. New York City Dept. of Health & Mental Hygiene, 205 A.D.3d 576, 166 N.Y.S.3d 854 [1st Dept. 2022]).  The “narrow exception” to the mootness doctrine is inapplicable (Matter of Santiago v. Berlin, 111 A.D.3d 487, 487, 974 N.Y.S.2d 457 [1st Dept. 2013]).

Since we are affirming on the alternative ground of mootness, we do not reach the remaining issues raised by the parties.