NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A federal judge on Friday ordered New York's houses of worship to be treated the same as businesses when it comes to coronavirus restrictions in a ruling that criticized Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio for "encouraging" protests while limiting outdoor religious gatherings.
Judge Gary Sharpe issued a preliminary injunction ordering officials to stop enforcing different restrictions on houses of worship than businesses. The judge wrote that separate restrictions on religious gatherings in New York led to “the curtailment of fundamental rights without compelling justification.”
Businesses have been allowed to operate at 50 percent indoor capacity under Phase 2 of the state's reopening, but houses of worship have been limited to 25 percent indoor capacity.
Sharpe ruled houses of worship should be treated the same as businesses when it comes to restrictions imposed by officials, noting that nonessential businesses under Phase 2 are “not justifiably different than houses of worship.”
The judge also ordered New York officials to stop “enforcing any indoor gathering limitation” on houses of worship if worshipers follow social distancing guidelines.
Earlier this month, Catholic priests Upstate and Orthodox Jewish congregants in Brooklyn filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of New York over the restrictions, arguing they violated their rights.
In his ruling, Sharpe also called out de Blasio and Cuomo for allowing mass protests this month as they restricted the size of religious gatherings.
De Blasio had “simultaneous pro-protest/anti-religious gathering messages,” while Cuomo “applauded and encouraged protesting and discouraged others from violating the outdoor limitations,” the judge wrote.
“Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio could have just as easily discouraged protests, short of condemning their message, in the name of public health and exercised discretion to suspend enforcement for public safety reasons instead of encouraging what they knew was a flagrant disregard of the outdoor limits and social distancing rules. They could have also been silent,” Sharpe wrote.
“But by acting as they did, Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio sent a clear message that mass protests are deserving of preferential treatment,” the judge continued.