Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., said she was considering bringing back a ban on masks in her state to reduce crime, a proposal that was rejected by some social media accounts still fearful of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hochul spoke to CNN anchor Laura Coates on Wednesday night about potential measures she may take to reduce rampant crime in New York City, including reinstituting a previous mask ban. Jewish leaders have stated that the masks have made violent offenders less afraid to commit antisemitic hate crimes. 

“But I absolutely will go back and take a look at this and see whether it can be restored because it is frightening to people,” Hochul said of the mask ban.

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Coates brought Hochul on to talk about a 4% rise in antisemitic incidents throughout New York City. The anchor noted that the “tone” and the “aggressiveness” of the antisemitic crimes and vandalism “seem to have truly escalated and they are where commuters are and beyond.”

The governor described these acts as “textbook antisemitism” and that they “constitute hate crimes,” and touted her administration for reforming the bail laws so that suspects accused of committing hate crimes could be held on bail.

She added that her team listed “28 more offenses to our hate crime list,” “beefed up security at vulnerable places, particularly places of worship,” and worked to protect college campuses during commencement season. 

Coates then brought up the potential mask ban, stating, “There‘s also a call some have talked about – some Jewish leaders actually in New York are calling tonight for a mask ban, saying that covering faces allows protesters to have some level of anonymity to be more aggressive, to be more entitled to say what they want because they don‘t fear repercussion the same way.”

“Would you support that endeavor?” the anchor asked.

The governor began by noting that there used to be a mask ban “before the pandemic, that you couldn’t have a face covering that didn’t serve a purpose… The pandemic removed that from our state law.”

She continued, noting she “absolutely will go back and take a look at this.”

“You‘re sitting on a subway train and someone puts on a mask like this… you don‘t know if they‘re going to be committing a crime, they‘re going to have a gun or whether they‘re just going to be threatening, intimidating you because you are Jewish, which is exactly what happened the other day. Absolutely unacceptable in the state of New York,” Hochul said.

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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul presents her 2025 executive state budget in the Red Room at the state Capitol on Jan. 16, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

Multiple accounts on social media apprehensive about COVID-19 voiced their displeasure with a potential mask ban. 

Public health commentator Dr. Lucky Tran posted, “UPDATE: NY Governor Kathy Hochul said on CNN last night that she is considering a ban on masks. @GovKathyHochul this is absolutely shameful! New York has suffered so much from COVID, and COVID is not over. We should be normalize[sic] and depoliticizing masks, not banning them.”

The account “COVID Advocacy NY” posted, “NY ACTION ALERT: @GovKathyHochul said on CNN that she is considering banning masks in NY. We need to all speak out against this!” 

The account also provided details for how to contact the governor or her team.

Health policy activist Myra Batchelder commented, “I just called and spoke with Gov Hochul’s staff. I urge New Yorkers to call and message her office today and urge her not to ban masks in NY! A mask ban will endanger people’s lives and health. We cannot ban masks in NY.”

Mayor Michelle Wu, Boston Parks Commissioner Ryan Woods, and The Skating Club of Boston are pleased to welcome children and their caregivers to kick off the 2024 summer wading season as the Boston Common Frog Pond spray pool reopens on Tuesday, June 25.

The wading pool opening is made possible by title sponsor Bank of America and presenting sponsor H.P. Hood LLC. The event will include an exciting celebration at 11 a.m. followed by the opening of the spray pool.

In addition to activities from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., residents can enjoy tasty treats and a visit from official mascot Frog Pond Freddie. LEGO® Discovery Center Boston will be on site with giveaways and a LEGO brick pit for free building with LEGO experts.

Enjoy sparkling water from Polar Beverages, local farm fresh milk from the New England Dairy Council, frozen treats from H.P. Hood LLC, and sample water flavoring packets from Cirkul. Residents can also try our instrument ‘petting zoo’ courtesy of the Boston Music Project and visit the team from PROJECT Melanoma for summer sun safety tips.

Also offering giveaways and activities will be Mass Audubon, the Boston Public Library Chinatown Branch, the Boston Public Health Commission, Science for Scientists, and the Boston Water and Sewer Commission’s popular water truck. For more information visit www.boston.gov/frogpond.

A year-round recreational facility, the Frog Pond offers ice skating in the winter, a spray pool and supervised wading for youth in the summer, and the Carousel from spring through fall. Information on additional activities offered at the Frog Pond can be found by visiting www.bostonfrogpond.com.

The Frog Pond spray pool is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. until Labor Day. The facility is managed by The Skating Club of Boston and staffed by youth workers from the Boston Youth Fund. For further information, please call the Frog Pond at (617) 635-2120.

To stay up to date with news, events, and design and construction work in Boston Parks, sign up for our email list at bit.ly/Get-Parks-Emails and follow our social channels @bostonparksdept on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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On Monday, the Pittsburg City Council is being asked to approve a 3-year agreement with Contra Costa health Services for homeless outreach.

The move comes as the latest Contra Costa County Point in Time Count showed the City of Pittsburg saw an increase in homelessness between 2023 to 2024. It jumped from 58 to 110.

According to the three-year contract, the total cost is $880,848 for a Coordinated Outreach Referral and Engagement (CORE) program services to assist individuals living in a state of homelessness within the boundaries of Pittsburg.

The Agreement will be funded by $874,738 in PHLA funds and Housing Successor Agency (HSA) funds will be used to pay for the difference between the total cost of the Agreement and the PLHA grant funds, which is anticipated to be $6,110. HSA funds will also be used as an advance in the event that HCD is delayed in remitting the grant funds to the City.

Through the State’s Project Home Key program, the County acquired Motel 6 and turned it into a permanent shelter named Delta Landing in 2022. Conversion of Motel 6 into a shelter has financially impacted the City because Motel 6 was no longer able to generate and pay transient occupancy tax to the City. To help ease some of the impacts, the County funded a CORE Team dedicated to Pittsburg (Pittsburg CORE Team) for fiscal years 2021/22 and 2022/23. The County’s funding of the Pittsburg CORE Team expired on June 30, 2023.

The CORE program works to engage and stabilize homeless persons and families through consistent outreach and to refer the unhoused to resources such as shelters, daytime drop-in care centers, emergency food, job training, healthcare, mental health counseling, transportation, substance abuse treatment, and other services. CORE teams serve as an entry point into the County’s coordinated entry system for the unhoused and work to locate, engage, stabilize, and house chronically homeless individuals and families.

Pursuant to the Initial Agreement, the Pittsburg CORE Team consists of 2 staff members who will each work 40 hours per week, Monday-Friday, 8 am-4 pm. The work schedule may be revised based on the City’s needs. The Pittsburg CORE Team will provide the following services:

• Identify and initiate contacts with homeless individuals living on the streets, assess their housing and service needs, and facilitate connections to shelter, benefits, behavioral health and primary healthcare services.
• Respond to calls for outreach and engagement from the City staff.
• Conduct a standardized intake and needs assessment assuring all homeless individuals contacted are entered into the Homeless Management Information System used by the Contractor.
• Conduct VI-SPDAT (Vulnerability Index-Service Prioritization Assistance Tool), a housing assessment tool assuring that homeless individuals who are provided services hereunder are entered into the Coordinated Entry system for prioritizing their needs for longer term housing.
• Partner with assigned City officer(s) during CORE Team’s work shifts throughout the week as needed and as determined by the City.
• Connect homeless individuals, also designated as “homeless clients,” via phone or in person with other points in the homeless service continuum including, but not limited to, interim housing, substance abuse treatment, mental health counseling, benefits, etc.
• Perform special assignments that include, but not limited to, homeless counts and presentations.
• Conduct patrols of strategic areas within the city limits on foot and via vehicle.
• Observe and report threats to the health and/or safety of homeless individuals (or threats by homeless individuals to the health or safety of others) encountered in the field and determine the need to request for uniformed police, fire or other emergency personnel.
• Maintain direct communications with the City’s Police Department to report illegal activity.
• CORE Team supervisors and outreach workers will participate in monthly meetings with the City’s Police Management, as well as with public and private partners as deemed appropriate by the City.
• Contractor will provide a monthly report to the City which will describe the services rendered during the previous 30 days, as well as the names of the persons rendering the service

According to the staff report, the homeless crisis is not particular to any city. Because most cities do not have the resources to tackle homeless issues on their own, many cities partner with counties and service providers as an efficient and cost effective way of addressing homelessness.

The City is no different. For example, the City uses some of its Community Development Block Grant funds to fund organizations who provide meals and conduct food distribution and administer healthcare services to the unhoused. Various housing funds have been used to assist projects that constructed residential units for those who were previously homeless or at the verge of homelessness. The City also provides in-kind services to assist the shower program offered to the unhoused. The City is dedicated to working with its partners in providing resources and assisting in the homeless efforts.

If You Go:

Pittsburg City Council Meeting
June 17, 2024  at 7:00 pm
65 Civic Avenue, Pittsburg

Staff Report, click here
Agreement, click here

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