
NEW YORK (WCBS 880/WBEN) — New York State’s mandate on face coverings and masks inside schools and other indoor businesses is unconstitutional, a Long Island judge ruled Monday.

In a decision, Nassau County Supreme Court Justice Thomas Rademaker voided the statewide mask mandate set by Gov. Kathy Hochul, saying it was improperly enacted without approval from the state Legislature.
In his ruling, Rademaker added that his decision is not to deny the effectiveness of masks, just that the mandate itself violates the New York State Constitution.
“As stated previously, there can be no doubt that every person in this State wishes, wants, and prays that this era of COVID ends soon and they will surely do their part to see that accomplished,” Rademaker said in his ruling.
“However, enacting any laws to this end is entrusted solely to the State Legislature,” he continued.
Rademaker noted that if a law requiring masks be worn inside schools and indoor businesses was passed by the state Legislature, then the requirement would be allowed to remain in place.
Hochul, along with Health Commissioner Mary Bassett, issued the statewide mask mandate for schools and indoor businesses on Dec. 10, 2021, to address the “winter surge” of COVID-19 cases.
Since then, some municipalities and parents across the state – including in some Nassau County school districts – have been calling for masks to be optional for children.
Earlier this month, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman also signed an order that would allow individual school districts in the area to decide whether to drop mask requirements for students or not.
At the time, Gov. Hochul stressed that the state’s mandate overrides a county executive’s order, and implied schools that do drop the mask requirements would lose funding from the state Department of Education.
Following Monday’s ruling, Blakeman spoke with WCBS 880, calling it a “tremendous victory for the people of New York State.”
“As of now, there is no mask mandate,” Blakeman said. “And it’s what I’ve been saying all along that the governor did not have the authority – and the health commissioner did not have the authority – to promulgate a mandate.”
“I have maintained all along that we researched all of the law and we could not find any authority for the mandate,” Blakeman continued. “We have to be very careful in America when a public official acts beyond the authority given to them by the constitution of either the United States or the state of New York and that seems to be the case here.”
Hochul reacted to the ruling stating, "My responsibility as Governor is to protect New Yorkers throughout this public health crisis, and these measures help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and save lives. We strongly disagree with this ruling, and we are pursuing every option to reverse this immediately."
The New York State Education Department is advising schools they should continue to adhere to the mask mandate as a stay is expected to result while the ruling is appealed.
WBEN obtained the following guidance statement from the education department:
"It is SED’s understanding that the Department of Health will appeal the Nassau County Supreme Court decision, which will result in an automatic stay that will unambiguously restore the mask rule until such time as an appellate court issues a further ruling. Therefore, schools must continue to follow the mask rule."
The ruling comes as the omicron wave that gripped New York state appears to be fading. The state averaged around 23,400 new cases of the virus per day in the 7 day period that ended Sunday, down from 74,600 per day during the wave’s peak in early January. Hospitalizations are dropping, too, declining 17% statewide in the past 7 days.