By Carolyn Thompson | Associated Press
Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, said her office would continue defending the mandate in court. The order required masks in schools, health care facilities, homeless shelters, jails, public transportation, and in any indoor public area where vaccination wasn’t required for entry.Ruling Monday in a case brought by a group of parents, a judge on Long Island, Thomas Rademaker said the governor and state health commissioner didn’t have authority to issue such a mandate without legislative approval.
Syracuse City Schools were among those the stuck with the state guidance. “That means that anyone entering any of our schools must continue to wear a mask,” a notice on the district’s website said. New York City also stuck with its masking rule, which pre-existed the state’s order.Republican U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik criticized Hochul for “ignoring” the lower court’s ruling.
Attorney Chad Laveglia, who brought the challenge on behalf of a group of parents, vowed to take it “as far as it needs to go.”