LIRR mask mandate dropped, effective immediately, Hochul says

Masks are no longer required on the LIRR and other mass transit systems in New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday, ending a pandemic protocol described by an MTA board member as having become “basically unenforceable.” 

The shift in policy to face masks being "encouraged, but optional," effective immediately, comes as the state officially registers a lower level of COVID-19 positive tests than in recent weeks, with hopes that the falling numbers could be a signal the COVID-19 pandemic, if not yet waning, is finally becoming manageable.

“We have to restore some normalcy to our lives," Hochul said at a news conference in Manhattan.

The mask requirement will remain, however, in health care facilities, including hospitals and nursing homes.

The state's seven-day rolling average for positivity sat at 5.6% as of Monday. Experts have regarded the official numbers as an undercount, given the proliferation of at-home tests that are not officially reported to the state.

While Hochul lifted the mask requirement on the Long Island Rail Road and other mass transit systems across the state, many riders have already ditched the mask coverings — often far more than half in many train cars.

At the height of the pandemic, MTA officials took an aggressive stance in urging riders to mask up, including with the threat of $50 fines for violators. In April 2021, the MTA reported that compliance rates, including on the LIRR, were about 98%.

But riders noticed a significant drop in compliance over the last year, especially after mask mandates were dropped in most other settings.

Gerard Bringmann, chairman of the LIRR Commuter Council and an MTA board member, estimated that fewer than 50% of passengers have been wearing face coverings as of late. Bringmann said the policy had become “basically unenforceable” and “should have been lifted months ago.”

The state will post signs on the trains, buses and subways reminding of the policy change, but with an appeal to politeness: "Masks are encouraged but optional. Let's respect each other's choices."

Wearing a mask can help prevent a person infected with COVID-19 from spreading the virus to other people, according to medical experts.

Dr. Mary T. Bassett, the state health commissioner, said she often wears one around her 94-year-old mother to try to protect her.

But many New Yorkers have also found them to be a nuisance 2 1/2 years into the pandemic, and don't wear them anymore.

Hochul encouraged people to respect others' choices.

“I walk the streets of Manhattan almost every day and I see people still wearing them," she said. "That is their choice. We encourage them to do that."

On mass transit: “Do not judge your fellow passengers on what their choices are," she said. "Let’s be respectful."

Bringmann said that before Hochul's announcement Wednesday, it had become unrealistic to expect conductors or MTA police to confront every rider who was in violation because there were so many.

“It was just ticking off the riders who were adhering to it, seeing people who weren’t adhering to it, and there was no punishment, no consequences,” Bringmann said. “The trains would stop running, basically, because you’d have people on every train that refused.”

Anthony Simon, who heads the union representing LIRR conductors, said he, too, was “pleased” the governor dropped the mandate.

“Our crews have had a difficult time trying to convey the message of the continued mask mandate,” said Simon, general chairman of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers. “This will avoid future confrontations and provide consistency with other transportation agencies in our region.”

At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, MTA chairman Janno Lieber displayed the new signs announcing the change and said they are already going up at train stations.

Lieber acknowledged that mask compliance in transit “definitely went down” and the MTA chose “not to increase conflict” by strictly enforcing the mandate. 

Long Beach commuter Mark Hassin said the low compliance rate should have been a signal to MTA officials and state leaders to step up enforcement of the policy, not drop it. 

“I think at this point, it’s still a mistake [to remove the mandate]. You’ve got different variants running around. … Why jump the gun?” said Hassin, of Atlantic Beach, who has complained to the MTA repeatedly about the high number of passengers violating the agency's mask policy. 

“The reality is they never enforced it. They never did what they said," said Hassin, who has observed as few as "4 or 5" masked riders in a train car holding "50 or 60 people."

"Why put in a mandate to begin with if you’re not going to enforce it?" he asked.

Lieber, who said he plans to continue to mask up while on board trains, said the removal of the mandate is a sign that “normalcy is coming back” to the transit system.

Another sign, he said, was an uptick in ridership Tuesday, when several employers encouraged employees to return to the office. On the LIRR, ridership was up 38% over the Tuesday after Labor Day in 2021, when the railroad carried 137,600 riders.