ALBANY, N.Y. – Gov. Kathy Hochul stated Thursday that she is considering a ban on face mask within the New York City subway device because of considerations about other people shielding their identities whilst committing antisemitic acts.
Hochul, a Democrat, instructed journalists the precise main points of the coverage aren’t transparent however it might include “common-sense exemptions” for health, cultural or religious reasons. Many people concerned about COVID-19 and air pollution routinely wear masks on the subway.
Hochul said she was in talks with lawmakers on potentially crafting a bill.
At at news conference in Albany, the governor said she was moved to act after “a group donning masks took over a subway car, scaring riders and chanting things about Hitler and wiping out Jews” on Monday evening.
It was not clear exactly what incident she was referring to, but it could have been a conflation of different episodes related to pro-Palestinian demonstrations that day in Union Square Park.
Hundreds of people leaving the rally flooded into a subway station, some waving flags and banging on drums, to get on trains headed downtown. On one train, a man who was not wearing a mask led a small group in chanting “Raise your hands if you’re a Zionist” to other passengers, followed by, “This is your chance to get out.”
Meanwhile video circulating on social media showed a confrontation that purportedly happened earlier in the day, when a man in Union Square — who also was not wearing a mask — was recorded shouting, “I wish Hitler was still here. He would’ve wiped all you out.”
It was unclear whether he was involved in the protest or whom he was shouting at. A group of people waving Israeli flags was also in the park at the time.
“We will not tolerate individuals using masks to evade responsibility for criminal or threatening behavior,” Hochul said. “My team is working on a solution, but on a subway, people should not be able to hide behind a mask to commit crimes.”
New York handed a regulation banning face mask in public within the 1800s as a reaction to protests over hire. It used to be suspended in 2020 by means of then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo as a part of a pandemic public well being marketing campaign, and mask had been additionally made necessary for subway riders till September 2022.
The mask ban in the past had drawn grievance from civil rights teams that argued it used to be selectively enforced to get a divorce protests the place other people sought after to cover their identities to keep away from prison or skilled repercussions.
“The Governor’s concerns about masks disguising criminal activity won’t be quelled by banning anonymous peaceful protest. Mask bans were originally developed to squash political protests and, like other laws that criminalize people, they will be selectively enforced — used to arrest, doxx, surveil, and silence people of color and protestors the police disagree with,” Donna Lieberman, government director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, stated in a commentary.
“A mask ban would be easily violated by bad actors and, if someone’s engages in unlawful actions, the judgement should be made based on the criminal behavior, not their attire,” she stated.
Hochul stated that reinstating a ban can be sophisticated.
“We understand how complex this issue is, and we’re just listening to people and addressing their needs and taking them very seriously,” she stated.
Since the conflict between Hamas and Israel started in October, there were masses of demonstrations by means of pro-Palestinian activists within the town, the overpowering collection of them non violent. Mask-wearing by means of individuals is commonplace, partly as a result of fears about police surveillance.
Mayor Eric Adams has additionally mentioned reviving some model of previous mask bans and as soon as prompt that shopkeepers inform other people they’ve to take them off to go into.
The carrying of face coverings in public has declined since COVID-19 deaths abated, however many nonetheless use them.
“There are other people which might be at top chance for serious illness from a breathing an infection who could also be the use of mask in a crowded congregated surroundings such because the subway to lower their probability of obtaining an an infection,” Amesh Adalja, a senior student at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, stated by the use of e-mail.
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