Judge blocks restrictions on religious services in NY

1(W <2R. — $ federal judge on )riday blocked 1ew

capacity when other types of gath erings are limited to 0 .

-udge *ary 6harpe enjoined *ov. $ndrew Cuomo, 1ew

The plaintiffs’ religious activities “will be burdened and continue to be treated less favorably than comparable secular activities,” 6harpe said in his

page ruling from $lbany.

The plaintiffs, two Roman Catho lic priests from upstate 1ew

The plaintiffs said the restrictions forced the Rev. 6teven 6oos and the Rev. 1icholas 6tamos to either turn away parishioners who wished to at tend 0ass “or to hold more 0asses per day than are possible.”

Christopher )errara, an attorney for the plaintiffs, called the unequal restric tions “an irrational targeting of houses of worship.”

“The idea that houses of worship are some deadly viral vector unlike any thing else is just superstition,” )errara said in a telephone interview. “There’s no science to support that.”

Restrictions limiting the number of people who can attend outdoor reli gious gatherings will also be lifted by the injunction.

The judge noted that both Cuomo and de %lasio have expressed approval for protests while continuing to support restrictions on religious gatherings.

“*overnor Cuomo and 0ayor de %lasio could have just as easily dis couraged protests, short of condemn ing their message, in the name of pub lic health and exercised discretion to suspend enforcement for public safety reasons instead of encouraging what they knew was a flagrant disregard of the outdoor limits and social distancing rules,” he said.

$ spokesperson for Cuomo said the governor’s office will review the deci sion.