The Florida judge’s decision had little — if any — impact in the Big Apple as state and city officials in New York pivoted to citing new authorities for keeping faces covered on transit.
New York officials are taking matters into their own hands to keep masks mandated on public transit in the city after a Florida judge struck down a federal face-covering requirement as unconstitutional this week. The Monday ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle lifted the Biden administration’s national transit mandate, which has been cited by Gov. Hochul and other local leaders as justification for requiring masks on trains, buses and other modes of public transportation in New York. Still, Mizelle’s decision had little — if any — impact in the Big Apple as state and city officials pivoted to citing new authorities for keeping faces covered on transit. The state-controlled Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the city’s subway and buses, the Staten Island Railway, the Long Island Railroad and the Metro-North Railroad, said it will continue to require all its customers to wear masks, citing powers bestowed to it by a March 2 Department of Health directive. The Taxi and Limousine Commission followed suit and affirmed it will also continue to mandate masks for city riders and drivers of yellow cabs and for-hire vehicles operated by apps like Uber and Lyft.
