A State Appellate Division panel this afternoon granted a stay of the Nassau County court decision last week that invalidated New York’s statewide mask mandate.
A four-judge panel granted the New York attorney general’s motion and stayed enforcement of the Jan. 24 order by State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Rademaker, holding that State Commissioner of Health Mary Bassett lacked legal authority to promulgate the mask mandate rule. See prior story. The state filed a notice of appeal the same day.
The stay is conditioned on the state perfecting its appeal — filing its brief and record on appeal — by March 2. If the state files the required papers by March 2, the lower court order will be stayed until the appellate division rules on the appeal.
The mask mandate is currently in effect until Feb. 10.
“I commend the Appellate Division, Second Department for granting a full stay to keep our masking regulations in place for the duration of our appeal,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement tonight.
“My primary responsibility as Governor is to keep New Yorkers safe. Mask regulations keep our schools and businesses safe and open, protect vulnerable New Yorkers, and are critical tools as we work to get through this winter surge,” she said.
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