The mandate had been given a “temporary stay” by the Appellate Division on January 25th after State Supreme Court Judge Thomas Rademaker ruled on January 24th that the mandate violates the New York State Constitution.

On Friday, Hochul extended her “mask or proof of vaccination” policy for all indoor public places through at least February 10 and said she will re-evaluate the policy every two weeks.

Hochul made the statement Monday, “I commend the Appellate Division, Second Department for granting a full stay to keep our masking regulations in place for the duration of our appeal. My primary responsibility as Governor is to keep New Yorkers safe. Mask regulations keep our schools and businesses safe and open, protect vulnerable New Yorkers, and are critical tools as we work to get through this winter surge. Thanks to our efforts, including mask regulations, cases are declining and we are seeing major progress in the fight against COVID-19. I thank the Attorney General and her team for their defense of these common sense measures, and I am confident we will continue to prevail. We are committed to doing everything in our power to keep New Yorkers safe.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James also released the following statement: “We are pleased by the Appellate Division, Second Department’s decision today to preserve the statewide mask mandate pending the appeal. Wearing a mask saves lives. The mask mandate and today’s decision will help in our efforts to fight back this virus. My office will continue to use its full authority to keep New Yorkers safe.”

Governor Kathy Hochul

Nassau County State Supreme Court has struck down Governor Kathy Hochul’s statewide mask mandate as unconstitutional.

WETM reports Judge Thomas Rademaker wrote that the governor does not have the authority to impose the mandate since emergency powers are no longer in place.

The court document states, “While the intentions of Commissioner Bassett and Governor Hochul appear to be well aimed squarely at doing what they believe is right to protect the citizens of New York State, they must take their case to the State Legislature.”

The mandate was enacted by Governor Hochul last month, requiring face coverings in schools and other public places, in order to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 omicron variant.

Governor Hochul released the following statement in regards to the ruling:
“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 State Education Department also issued a statement, saying it was their understanding that the Department of Health will appeal the 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.”