Blakeman: Gov should “stand down” from mask mandate

County Executive Bruce Blakeman held a news conference on Tuesday, Jan. 25 on the steps of the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building in Mineola. He called on Gov. Kathy Hochul to accept Monday’s ruling regarding mask mandates by the Hon. Thomas Rademaker, justice of the NYS Supreme Court in Nassau County.

Rademaker adjudicated a lawsuit that challenged the state mandate concerning masks inside public schools. His ruling declared the governor’s Dec. 10 state mandate that New York state public school students wear masks inside school buildings invalid.

Rademaker wrote in his ruling that because New York is not legally in a state of emergency, State Commissioner of Health Mary Bassett, M.D., could not direct masks be worn in schools, and Hochul could not issue a mandate based on that directive without approval from the state Legislature.

The basis of Bassett’s directive was a section of state regulatory code. Rademaker declared that Bassett’s and Hochul’s use of the code violated the state constitution, so the section “as promulgated and enacted” was unenforceable.

At the news conference, Blakeman said bluntly, “…we’re here today to request that the governor stand down, that she not further appeal the decision of Justice Rademaker.”

Blakeman expressed confidence that if Hochul were to follow through on her decision to appeal Rademaker’s ruling, the Appellate Court would uphold the ruling. Rademaker’s decision, Blakeman said, was principled, well founded and on solid ground. Then he said that the lawsuit was about choice, not about masks.

“If a parent chooses to send their child to school with a mask, that’s fine,” Blakeman said. “We’re not anti-mask. We’re anti-mandate.”

However, the Baldwin School District announced that same day that students are required to mask, in accordance with New York State Education Department and the New York State Department of Health guidelines masks are required at school. Superintendent Shari Camhi stated, “We realize this decision provides relief for some and disappointment for others.”

Republican legislators Steve Rhoads and John Ferretti as well as Michael Demetreiou, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, and members from local school boards stood with Blakeman. Demetriou thanked Blakeman for his support.

“He gave us his word that he was going to stand with us shoulder to shoulder as a united people,” Demetriou said. “We didn’t elect somebody as a party, we elected somebody that said, ‘We want to prioritize our choice as parents and our choice for children.’ This is about the children – always.”

Demetriou said that his two young children, who go to school in Bellmore, had suffered from the mask mandate. His daughter has sensory issues exacerbated by the masks and his son had manifested anxiety and tics.

“I believe in protecting your child’s innocence, always,” Demetriou said.

Massapequa School Board President Kerri Wachter also spoke, saying, “Our peer nations, they’re not masking their kids. Most of our country, they are not masking kids. This is really only in New York. … It’s time to move past this, and I urge the governor to just let it go.”

After a few questions from people who attended the news conference, Blakeman went through a timeline of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s changing recommendations for mask wearing from the start of the pandemic in March of 2020.

“I think the science has been somewhat dubious,” Blakeman said. “I’ve asked for, from the governor, from the health commissioner, I’d like to see the data, I’d like to see the science. It hasn’t been forthcoming. There’ve been no clinical trials on the effectiveness of masks.”

He added that individuals who wish to wear masks will thereby be protected from the Coronavirus even if others don’t wear them. Doctors, he said, who opposed the state mask mandate had been bullied by the state Department of Health.

“The fact of the matter is, I would never, ever, ever endorse any policy that would put our children in jeopardy,” Blakeman added.

On Tuesday afternoon, Justice Robert J. Miller, the state appeals court judge, sided with the state, granting a stay. It allows for the mask mandate to temporarily go back into effect.