New York governor plans to ban face masks on subways

NOTNew York Governor Kathy Hochul is considering banning face masks for riders on the city’s subway system as she has received reports of anti-Semitic incidents by people wearing masks.

At a news conference Thursday, Hochul said she has started talking to lawmakers about drafting a bill. But she acknowledged the issue is complicated, because many people wear masks for health, religious and cultural reasons. The governor said she was looking into the issue after “a group wearing masks took over a subway car, frightening passengers and chanting about Hitler and exterminating Jews” Monday night.

This is not the only incident that has occurred, as the governor’s office said incidents involving masked individuals making threats on the subway have been widely reported.

“We will not tolerate individuals using masks to evade (responsibility for) criminal or threatening behavior,” Hochul said at the news conference. “My team is working on a solution, but in a subway, people should not be able to hide behind a mask to commit crimes.”

“There’s obviously a problem here,” she added. “This will be taken care of.”

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Hochul said if a bill were drafted, there would be “common sense exceptions.”

While many people have stopped wearing masks since the number of COVID-19 cases declined, others still use them in public places, including on the subway. Masks were mandatory for metro users during the pandemic, until September 2022.

“I assure everyone that we understand how complex this issue is,” Hochul said. “And we just listen to people and respond to their needs and take them very seriously. So we will also talk more about this in the near future.