Tuesday, April 29`, 2025
Year : 2, Issue: 35
AMNY: Monday’s budget deal between Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers includes provisions aimed at cracking down on individuals wearing masks to commit disruptive behavior and crime.
While not an outright ban on masks, the language in the $254 billion budget states that a new Class B misdemeanor will be created to “crack down” on perps who use masks to conceal their identity when committing a Class A misdemeanor or higher crime or fleeing the scene immediately after committing such a crime.
“I promised New Yorkers to fight like hell to put money back in their pockets and make our streets and subways safer. That’s exactly what this budget will do,” Hochul said.
Activists for nearly a year have been pushing for legislation targeting masks in New York. Members of #UnMaskHateNY, a campaign launched in June following a wave of violent college protests that rocked the city after the start of the Israel – Hamas war, have pushed for the reimplementation a mask ban, which ended during the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago, to stop those who hide their faces while they break the law.
Will Miller, a spokesperson for the organization, celebrated the mask inclusion in the state budget.
However, not everyone supports a mask ban or restrictions. In a press release, Allie Bohm, senior policy counsel at the NYC Civil Liberties Union, said that “mask bans have no place” in New York.
Meanwhile, Hochul said more information about the budget will be announced over the week as lawmakers “confer and vote on budget bills.”
