Maskless Cops Outrage New Yorkers, Politician Says

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A state senator in Manhattan says there's a problem with the NYPD's plan to fine subway-riders spotted without face masks: many cops patrolling the city don't seem fond of wearing masks themselves.

"I’m often asked by my children, my nine-year-old and my three-year-old, why police are not wearing masks when they see them in places like Union Square or Washington Square," said State Sen. Brad Hoylman, who represents most of Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Midtown and Hell's Kitchen.

"If we civilians are subject to those types of guidelines, so should law enforcement," he told Patch.

Since the coronavirus took hold in April, all New Yorkers — cops and civilians alike — have been required to wear face masks in public spaces where social distancing is not possible. Face masks are also required in the transit system, and the MTA announced this month that transit police and the NYPD would begin issuing $50 fines to maskless riders.

But Hoylman said his office has received increasing numbers of complaints by constituents reporting police officers not wearing face masks, even amid an alarming uptick of COVID-19 cases in parts of the city.

One site of particular concern has been the NYPD's Hell's Kitchen tow pound on 12th Avenue and West 38th Street, where a number of constituents have reported inconsistent mask-wearing among both staff and civilians, Hoylman said.

His office shared one complaint from a constituent after a recent visit, who wrote that they were "horrified to learn that despite being a branch of the NYPD, masks and social distancing were NOT being enforced."

"There were even staff members without masks," the resident wrote. "How are we going to beat this thing if our city workers aren't enforcing the protocols, or adhering to them?"

On Monday, Hoylman penned a letter to Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, asking him to enforce a stricter policy on mask use. Hoylman noted that the virus has taken a particular toll on the NYPD, having killed at least 43 department employees.

Reached for comment, the NYPD referred Patch to an interview last week in which Shea disputed that the issue was widespread among officers, but conceded, "we are human."

Elected officials including Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio have taken note of the trend, calling on officers to do a better job masking up. Cuomo took up the issue again Tuesday during his daily press briefing.

"Why don’t the NYPD wear masks? What signal does that send?" the governor asked."It’s the law to wear a mask and the police officer who’s supposed to enforce the law doesn’t wear a mask."

Hoylman said the trend has been especially noticeable amid ongoing protests against police violence.

"The police presence in parts of my district is pretty heavy as protests continue," he said. "I see more protesters wearing masks than I see [among] the police who are surveilling them."