NEW YORK—Thousands of people opposed to the harsh COVID-19 vaccine mandates being imposed in New York City protested on Monday. The large group, estimated to be in the thousands, gathered at Foley Square in the borough of Manhattan and later marched across the Brooklyn Bridge. Their message: the city’s vaccine mandate for Department of Education employees infringes upon their freedom. “You should have a right to choose whatever you do with your body,” Ricardo Alexander, a public school math and physics teacher, told the rally. Alexander and fellow educators were joined by civil rights attorneys, Bill Pepitone, a conservative candidate for New York City mayor, and Rita Palma, founder of My Kids, My Choice, among others. Pepitone harkened back to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, attempting to link that event to what’s unfolding now. “Terrorists tried to take our freedoms away through fear and intimidation. … We fought back. …