By Hank Russell
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman held a press conference on August 14 to sign into law a bill introduced by Legislator Masi Melesa Pilip (R-Great Neck) that makes it illegal to wear a mask out in public, except for health, safety and religious reasons.
As previously reported in Long Island Life & Politics, Pilip introduced the “Mask Transparency Act” which would make it a crime for anyone over 16 years of age to cover their faces with a mask in public in order to hide their identity from others. Those who do so will face a misdemeanor charge and a $1,000 fine.
Pilip introduced the bill in response to those who commit attacks on the Jewish population without the victim being able to identify their attacker. If the legislation passes, Nassau would be the first municipality in the metro area to institute this ban, as LILP previously reported.
“This is a bill that is going to protect the public,” Blakeman said. “We have seen in the United States, especially in New York and in Columbia University, people who wore masks and engaged in antisemitic acts of violence, tried to abridge people’s constitutional rights and occupied buildings, They tried to block roadways and bridges and tried to disrupt traffic and people’s lives.”
Blakeman said the bill also emphasizes public safety. He has spoken with Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder and members of the Nassau Police Department about the use of masks in committing a crime.
“People use masks to shoplift, to carjack and to rob banks,” Blakeman said. “This is the activity that we want to stop.”
He also disabused the notion that this will strip people of their constitutional rights. “You don’t have a right to hide your identity in public,” he said, adding that this is “a bipartisan bill,” with New York CIty Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, supporting the legislation.
LILP also reported that the Democrat majority in the Nassau Legislature introduced a version of their own bill in which they would prosecute those who wear a mask while committing a crime. They said their bill would not infringe on people’s constitutional rights.
In response to the signing of the Act into law, Legislative Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove) said in a statement, “Bruce Blakeman’s decision to sign the mask ban law is nothing more than political theater and a blatant waste of taxpayer money. This law is destined to be struck down in court, further tarnishing Blakeman’s already losing record of lawsuits. It’s deeply disappointing that Blakeman and his Republican colleagues chose to ignore any opportunity for bipartisan compromise or even consider the Democratic bill — a bill that upholds the rule of law, offers a fairer approach for residents, and imposes firmer penalties on actual offenders.”
Pilip, however, was glad to see her bill become law. “Today public safety won,” she stated. “Hatred, bigotry, and antisemitism lost. I am so proud and thankful for everyone who stood with me to fight this battle. By working together, our voices were louder and stronger than the people who hide behind their masks to intimidate, harass, promote violence, and spread hate.”
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