Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday that she is considering banning face masks in the New York City subway system owing to worries about people hiding their identities while performing antisemitic activities.
Hochul, a Democrat, told reporters that the exact contents of the legislation are unknown, but it will include “common-sense exemptions” for health, cultural, or religious reasons. Many people concerned about COVID-19 and air pollution wear masks on the metro.
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Hochul said she was in talks with lawmakers about perhaps writing a bill.
The governor said at a press conference in Albany that “a group donning masks took over a subway car, scaring riders and chanting things about Hitler and wiping out Jews” prompted her to intervene on Monday night.
It was unclear what incident she was referring to, but it could have been a combination of various pro-Palestinian demonstrations that day in Union Square Park.
Hundreds of people leaving the march crowded a metro station, some waving flags and banging on drums, to board trains bound for downtown. On one train, a man without a mask led a small group in yelling “Raise your hands if you’re a Zionist” to other passengers, followed by “This is your chance to get out.”
Meanwhile, a video circulating on social media depicted an altercation that allegedly occurred earlier in the day, when a man in Union Square—wwho was not wearing a mask—wwas caught saying, “I wish Hitler was still here. He would have wiped you all out.”
Not sure if he was part of the protest or shouting at someone. At the same moment, there was a gathering of people waving Israeli flags in the park.
“We will not tolerate individuals using masks to evade responsibility for criminal or threatening behavior,” Hochul stated. “My team is working on a solution, but on a subway, people should not be able to hide behind a mask to commit crimes.”
In reaction to rent demonstrations in the 1800s, New York implemented legislation prohibiting the wearing of face masks in public places. Then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo temporarily halted it in 2020 as part of a pandemic public health effort, making masks mandatory for subway riders until September 2022.
Civil rights groups had previously criticized the mask ban, claiming that it was selectively enforced to break up protests where people wished to conceal their identity to avoid legal or professional consequences.
“Prohibiting anonymous peaceful protest will not alleviate the Governor’s concerns about masks concealing criminal activity.” Mask bans were originally designed to suppress political protests, and, like other criminal laws, they will be selectively enforcedd—used to arrest, doxx, surveil, and silence people of color and protestors with whom the police disagree,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, in a statement.
“Bad actors would easily violate a mask ban, and if someone engages in unlawful actions, the judgment should be based on the criminal behavior, not their attire,” she said.
Hochul agreed that reinstating the ban would be difficult.
“We understand how complex this issue is, and we’re just listening to people, addressing their needs, and taking them very seriously,” she stated.
Since the war between Hamas and Israel began in October, pro-Palestinian activists have staged hundreds of demonstrations in the city, the vast majority of which have been peaceful. Participants frequently wear masks, which is due in part to fears of police surveillance.
Mayor Eric Adams has also discussed resurrecting some versions of previous mask bans, and he also urged businesses to warn customers they must remove their masks before entering.
Although the use of facial coverings in public has decreased since COVID-19 deaths subsided, many people continue to use them.
“There are people who are at high risk of severe disease from a respiratory infection and may be using masks in a crowded, congregated setting such as the subway to reduce their chances of contracting an infection,” said Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, via email.
