NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Riders who don’t wear face coverings on subways, buses and commuter rails will soon face a $50 fine, the MTA said Thursday.
The mandatory mask rule will apply to all riders on subways, buses, Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road and will take effect on Monday, Sept. 14, MTA chairman Pat Foye said Thursday.
The MTA, at Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s request, is filing a rule on an emergency basis with the New York secretary of state that will allow for the $50 fine, Foye said in a conference call with the governor.
“The rule will be effective immediately upon filing with the secretary of state on Monday,” Foye said.
Cuomo said mask compliance “remains high” across the MTA system: 96% on buses, 90% on subways and “well over” 90% on both Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road.
“Labor Day has come and gone. The volume is up," he said. "And I’ve asked the MTA to come up with an enforcement regiment so people know that not only are the cars clean and the stations clean, but riders will be acting appropriately."
There will be a 60-day public comment period after the emergency rule is filed, after which the MTA board will consider the public comments and adopt a final rule, In the meantime, riders who don’t wear face coverings will face fines.
The MTA will be providing face coverings for those who need them systemwide, as it has been doing. There are also vending machines with masks and hundreds of volunteers handing them out.
“Transit is key to people coming back to the city and coming back to work. So even if it’s just one or two people in the system, they do not have the right to endanger anyone else, and frankly they don’t have the right to scare anyone away from the system,” New York City Transit President Sarah Feinberg said of the new rule.
“This is a last resort. This is for the very few people who refuse to wear a mask when offered," she added. "And it will be enforced by the MTA police, and of course we’ll be dependent on the NYPD for enforcement as well. We will not be asking our own workforce to enforce this regulation. They’ve already got plenty to do and that’s not their job. But we believe this will be really helpful in getting us closer to our goal of 100% mask compliance."