10
COURIER LIFE, APRIL 22-28, 2022
Keep it on!
MTA, Port Authority maintain mask mandates
after judge strikes down CDC requirement
BY BEN BRACHFELD
The MTA is sticking
with its mask mandate for
now, even after a federal
judge in Florida on April 18
struck down the Center for
Disease Control and Prevention’s
face-covering requirement
on airplanes and public
transit nationwide.
The transit authority
said that it intends to keep
its mandate in place on its
buses, subways, and commuter
railroads for now, citing
a March recommendation
from the state Health
Department recommending
masks continue to be required
in certain settings,
like public transit, even as
the state has relaxed regulations
elsewhere.
“The mask requirement
on public transit in
NY remains in effect for
now pursuant to a March
2, 2022 determination by
the New York State Department
of Health,” said MTA
spokesperson Tim Minton
in a statement.
But even with the local
mandate still in place, the
ruling may serve to catalyze
the gradual maskshedding
by Gotham straphangers
that has been seen
in recent months, even
with the MTA plastering
masking ads all over its
trains and running consistent
voice-over announcements
reminding riders to
wear a face-covering.
Federal Judge Kathryn
Kimball Mizelle struck
down the CDC’s nationwide
mandate on April 18, arguing
that the public health
agency had overstepped its
policymaking authority,
just days after the mandate
had been extended to May 3.
Almost immediately after
the ruling dropped, the federal
Transportation Security
Administration (TSA)
announced that it would no
longer enforce a mask mandate
at the nation’s airports
and transit hubs; numerous
Riders seen with and without masks at the Eighth Avenue L-train
station in Manhattan on March 27, 2022. Photo by Dean Moses
airlines also dropped their
mask mandates, with some
announcing the change
mid-flight.
New Yorkers shouldn’t
be so quick to shed their
masks though; the Port Authority
said on April 19 that
masks are still required at
its New York facilities, including
JFK and LaGuardia
Airports, the Port Authority
Bus Terminal and
George Washington Bridge
Bus Station, and the Oculus.
Masks remain a requirement
on PATH trains.
“The Port Authority
will continue to follow the
guidance of the New York
and New Jersey public
health authorities with respect
to mask mandates at
its public transportation
facilities,” a Port Authority
spokesperson said.
The conflicting guidelines
coming from different
levels and entities of
government have caused
something of a mess at
Penn Station. Amtrak,
which owns the subterranean
train hub, and New
Jersey Transit have lifted
their mask mandates, but
masks remain a requirement
on the Long Island
Rail Road and the subway.
Signs denoting a mask
requirement were still
up during the morning
rush even as overhead announcements
by Amtrak
declared masks optional,
Gothamist reported.
Cases have been on the
rise in the city over the
past several weeks owing
to the BA.2 subvariant of
Omicron, though still at
nowhere near the levels
seen during this winter’s
surge. Though cases are
reaching levels where the
city Health Department
recommends reinstating
restrictions, Mayor Eric
Adams — once again doing
in-person events after coming
out of COVID-19 isolation
— would not commit
to restoring any mandates.
The straphanger advocacy
group Riders Alliance
is hoping that, as case
counts rise, New Yorkers
continue to mask at a high
rate relative to the rest of
the country.
“Most New Yorkers
are continuing to mask
in transit as before,” said
Riders Alliance policy and
communications director
Danny Harris. “With viral
case counts unfortunately
climbing, there’s a good
reason for us to keep masking
in our public transit
system even as other regions
and modes are taking
a different route following
the judge’s ruling. Hopefully,
the trend here will
turn around soon, more of
us will feel confident taking
off our own masks as
well and local rules will reflect
that development.”