MANHATTAN, N.Y—Thousands of New York firefighters gathered on Thursday afternoon outside Gracie Mansion, the residence of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, to protest against the vaccine mandates. De Blasio recently imposed a vaccine mandate on all city workers, saying that it’s for the safety of the city. The featured speakers at the rally made their voices heard across more than two blocks filled with active firefighters, retired firefighters, and other supporters. “Not anti-vaccine, just anti-mandate,” many of the featured speakers said. Some of the other supporters were asked to remove political signs that weren’t focused on the main cause. The deadline is Friday at 5 p.m. Most of them want to keep working, but some would rather retire than take the jabs. The unions have not been able to reach a final agreement with the mayor. The only accord arrived at was that the firefighters who will be placed on …