"It should be clear after almost two years that not only will we not be returning to the old normal, we should not be trying to. Forcing people to return to the office in person five days a week, with no flexibility, shows no acknowledgement of what we’ve learned throughout the pandemic, nor the new normal that we should pursue. It is true that commuting across the city to a physical workplace has benefits for small businesses and our economy. At the same time, the option of remote work has been transformative for many working New Yorkers and their families.
"My office, which went fully remote amid the Omicron surge, will be returning to a hybrid model in two weeks. I encourage other government agencies on the city and state level to set an example of responsible workforce leadership by adopting hybrid models wherever possible. As COVID-19 cases thankfully drop across New York, the way forward is to forge a new normal, in line with the science and with the needs of New Yorkers, with an eye toward the future for both the risk of new surges and the potential for a new transformative economy that centers working people."