New York governor considers face-mask ban on subway to deter crime

New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, is considering reimposing a ban on face masks in the Big Apple’s transit system over allegations that masked protesters are taking advantage of identity-concealing face wear to stage antisemitic attacks.

The governor has not spelled out details of the policy or people who may be exempted. But she has said that she is motivated to act by “a group donning masks that took over a subway car, scaring riders and chanting things about [Nazi dictator Adolf] Hitler and wiping out Jews”.

Hochul may have been referring to a recent episode involving a pro-Palestinian rally in which a man led a small group on a New York City subway car in chanting: “Raise your hands if you’re a Zionist – this is your chance to get out.”

Another man is reported to have shouted allusions to the Holocaust, saying: “I wish Hitler was still here. He would’ve wiped all you out.”

However, neither men was reported to have been masked.

“We will not tolerate individuals using masks to evade responsibility for criminal or threatening behavior,” Hochul said on Thursday, adding that “on a subway, people should not be able to hide behind a mask to commit crimes”.

The potential move comes close to four years after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic during which New Yorkers initially struggled to obtain enough masks to slow the spread of the virus. Masks then became a defining feature of the era, but recommendations to wear them have been dropped as protective vaccines have become available and the rate of spread has slowed.

Read more via The Guardian