New York City Mayor Eric Adams plans to introduce new legislation to the City Council calling for a comprehensive, city-wide mask ban as a measure to combat Jew-hatred, he told i24News on Thursday.
“When you see some of the protests in the street, many people are covering their faces,” he told the Israeli channel. “You saw it on the college campuses. People are covering their faces. It clearly emboldens individuals when they want to do something improper when they’re able to conceal their identity.” (JNS sought comment from the mayor’s office.)
“I don’t believe they should be able to do that,” he said.
Adams criticized recent Albany legislation, which adds penalties if a masked person is charged with a Class A misdemeanor, for falling short of a full mask ban. (Before the COVID pandemic, the state had a full mask ban.)
“We were hoping that we would have a strong piece of legislation to come out of Albany to deal with this issue,” he told i24. “The legislation, I don’t believe, goes far enough.”
Instituting a mask ban would reduce Jew-hatred incidents in New York City, according to Adams.
“When you expose the faces of people, they’re less willing to do something that is disrespectful, antisemitic, and in some cases, criminal behavior,” he said.
