Some residents in New York City believe New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will face an uphill battle — one that’s essentially of her own making — after she suggested she’s willing to start “discussions” about a partial mask ban for Big Apple subways and protests amid the spread of antisemitism.
Highlighting an event that took place on a subway earlier this week in New York City, where a group of people “donning masks took over a subway car, scaring riders and chanting things about Hitler and wiping out Jews,” Hochul said Thursday during a public safety announcement that her administration “will not tolerate individuals using masks to evade responsibility for criminal or threatening behavior.”
“My team is working on a solution, but on a subway, people should not be able to hide behind a mask to commit crimes,” she said.
Hochul, who took office in 2021 and was responsible for implementing mask mandates amid the spread of coronavirus, realizes the issue is “complex” and that there are “legitimate reasons” why some choose to wear face coverings, mask coverings and head coverings.
“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 Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday. (Getty Images)
Hochul mentioned several reasons people might wear face coverings, like religious practices, protection from COVID or the flu, delivery drivers battling the elements, cultural events and Halloween.
Emily Alexander, a full-time nanny who works in New York City and frequents the subway system nearly every day, expressed concern to Fox News Digital over how such a ban could be implemented amid Hochul’s “laundry list” of exceptions.
“It’s frightening what I see sometimes during my commute, and there is a reason this is being talked about right now,” said Alexander. “I would certainly support a no-mask law, but how is it going to be possible when the governor and nearly every other lawmaker in the state will provide those health and religious exemptions?”
“People won’t be surprised when everyone starts changing their religion or claiming health-related statuses just so they can bully, threaten or belittle others,” she added. “That’ll be the new norm that’ll then have to be worked out. It’s all likely to fail.”
Another resident in the city who uses the city’s subway system from Wednesday to Saturday each week told Fox News Digital that he’s not too thrilled about the idea because he doesn’t believe “anything will come of it.”
“I really don’t think anything will come of it,” said the 47-year-old Brooklyn resident, who wished to speak anonymously. “I really don’t think there’s anything that could really stop these people. They are a different kind of evil. They’ll just say they need masks to prevent themselves from getting Covid, which we know is an excuse. How does anyone tell them they can’t wear them?”
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NYPD officers patrol a Manhattan subway station in New York City on March 18. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
“You certainly have to say, ‘There are major exemptions,’” Hochul said Thursday while fielding questions about the potential mask ban.
Hochul’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for information on how the governor plans to navigate who uses masks with good intentions from those who are using them to “evade” punishment for criminal wrongdoing.
Nonetheless, Hochul said Thursday that it’s time for a “reset” and noted that a previous law that outlawed masks in certain places “didn’t anticipate this back in 1845.”
An effort to push through a ban on masks or face coverings in subways or other areas in the state for those who do not have legitimate reason to wear one would require legislative action.
New York’s legislative session ended last week, though Hochul could call state lawmakers back to Albany to further discuss the issue.
“There’s no reason why those conversations can’t start now,” she said. “We’ll have a strategy and then determine the right time to address it.”
Following the Monday incident that was highlighted by Hochul in which Jewish Americans were targeted on a New York City subway, the governor has faced calls to reinstate an anti-mask law that was once used to prevent Ku Klux Klan members from donning hoods.
“A mask law will make a difference,” Scott Richman, regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, told The New York Post this week.
“It effectively tanked the Ku Klux Klan. Nobody wanted their face to be seen,” Richman added of the previous anti-mask law, which was on the books for nearly 200 years before being repealed in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hochul said she wants to work with “legislative leaders and find out how we can address this in a way that’s thoughtful,” and she appears to have the support of New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
“I’ve spoken to Mayor Adams, who’s been outspoken on this issue with the [Metropolitan Transportation Authority], with local law enforcement. And beginning conversations with the Legislature since this takes legislative action, which we’re considering. There’s obviously a problem here. This will be dealt with,” Hochul said.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams arrives at a press conference at City Hall on March 19. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service)
Adams, a Democrat, has also been vocal about his support for reviving a ban on masks at protests, saying during a Thursday interview on 77 WABC’s “Cats & Cosby” that “cowards hide their faces.”
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“Dr. [Martin Luther] King did not hide his face,” he said. “I agree with those who are calling for removal of the ban, not only for the protesters who are using vile language, but also for criminal behavior.”
“Now is the time to go back to the way we were pre-COVID, where you should not be able to wear masks at protests,” the mayor added.
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