Task force is deployed to state’s ‘ hot spots’
SLA unit enforcing mask-wearing where surges occur
A State Liquor Authority task force that has been cracking down on restaurants and bars that violate COVID -19 rules has been tasked with enforcing mask-wearing in “hot-spot” communities, many of them Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods, that have seen a recent surge in coronavirus cases, according to a person briefed on the effort.
The task force’s redeployment is being augmented by state Department of Health employees who are being dispatched this week to numerous downstate synagogues to educate members of those communities on the importance of wearing masks. The person briefed on the matter said that restaurants and bars will still face enforcement crackdowns, but some of those members are being directed to the hot-spot neighborhoods.
At 10 p.m. Thursday, an email was sent to members of the Liquor Authority ’s task force — the unit that has been handling enforcement of restaurants and bars — informing them they were being deployed to the affected areas with instructions to approach people not wearing masks and ask them to do so; if they refuse, the SLA officer can issue a summons that carries a $1,000 fine.
The email, also sent to members of the state Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services, informed them they were being assigned Friday to a “Mask Enforcement DETAIL/COVID Community Outreach Campaign.”
Its primary focus, the email said, is “identifying violations by individuals congregated in large groupings, within grocery stores, malls or in outside venues.
“Each DHSES employee will be partnered with a NYSP (State Police) investigator and our mission is safety and to act as the law enforcement arm of your team and this detail.”
State fire inspectors are among the employees being enlisted to help with the enforcement.
In recent days, 20 ZIP codes in Rockland, Kings and Orange counties have seen their rates of COVID -19 infections rise, driving the statewide infection rate to just over 1 percent. Those ZIP codes alone carry a 5.5 percent positive infection rate.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Friday that he was prepared to fine local governments for failing to enforce mask mandates and other rules meant to stop the virus’ spread.
In a phone call with reporters, Cuomo — who met earlier this week with Orthodox Jewish leaders — said that a number of COVID “hot spots” in downstate New York had become a “significant problem,” with an infection rate of 6.4 percent in those areas, as compared to an average of 1.03 percent in all other areas of the state.
Cuomo identified Orange and Rockland counties, as well as a small area in Nassau County as problematic.
In New York City, current problem areas include southern Brooklyn, as well as neighborhoods in central Queens, and to the east in Far Rockaway.
He said local governments’ “willful” failure to enforce the law could carry a penalty of up to $10,000 a day.
“If the local governments don’t step up to compliance, they will be in violation of the law — and can be fined,” Cuomo said. “Compliance is enforcement; compliance is not public education.”