Category: Kathy Hochul

‘Null, Void, and Unenforceable’: NY Judge Strikes Down Governor’s Mask Mandate

A New York Supreme Court judge on Monday evening ruled that Gov. Kathy Hochul’s mask mandate for schools and public places is unconstitutional, declaring it “null, void, and unenforceable.” In mid-December, the Democrat governor enacted the mandate in the midst of rising COVID-19 cases, in part, fueled by the Omicron variant. New York Supreme Court…


New York Sued for Using Race to Help Determine Who Receives Crucial COVID-19 Treatment

A legal group has filed a lawsuit against the state of New York for refusing to stop using race to help determine which people should receive monoclonal antibodies, a crucial treatment for COVID-19 that has been rationed by the federal government. America First Legal lodged the suit after the New York State Department of Health ignored a…


Almost Half of New York COVID-19 Hospitalizations Not Due to COVID-19

Nearly half of the patients currently in New York hospitals with COVID-19 are not in the hospital because of COVID-19, the state said Friday. Forty-three percent of the 11,548 hospitalized patients did not have COVID-19 listed as one of the reasons for admission, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office said. Hochul, a Democrat who is seeking a…


New York Becomes First State to Mandate COVID-19 Boosters for Healthcare Workers

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state will expand its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers to include booster shots, becoming the first state to require boosters for healthcare employees while also signaling that a growing number of institutions are increasingly aiming to mandate them. Hochul, a Democrat, said in a Friday news briefing…


New York Protesters Rally Against Vaccine Bills in Albany: ‘We Need Civil Disobedience in This Country’

New York state lawmakers returning for the 2022 legislative session were met with hundreds of demonstrators, who gathered outside the state Capitol in protest against a host of measures that would tighten the already strict COVID-19 vaccine rules across the state. As New York Gov. Kathy Hochul delivered her first-ever State of the State address,…


New York Protesters Rally in Albany Against Vaccine Bills: ‘We Need Civil Disobedience in This Country’

ALBANY, N.Y.—New York state lawmakers returning for the 2022 legislative session were met by hundreds of demonstrators who gathered outside the state Capitol to protest a host of measures that would tighten already strict COVID-19 vaccine rules across the state. As Gov. Kathy Hochul delivered her first State of the State address, the protesters on…


Blue States Ask Supreme Court to Review SALT Tax Deduction Caps

After losing in the lower courts, four Democratic-dominated northeastern states are asking the Supreme Court to consider their legal challenge to the cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions imposed by then-President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax law. The case is New York v. Yellen. Janet Yellen is being sued in her official capacity as secretary…


New York’s Mask-or-Vaccine Mandate for Businesses Extended

New York’s statewide COVID-19 mask-or-vaccine mandate for businesses and indoor venues will be extended several more weeks until Feb. 1, said Gov. Kathy Hochul on Dec. 31. Hochul, a Democrat, introduced the mandate, which requires businesses and venues to require people to wear masks or present proof of COVID-19 vaccination, in mid-December amid the spread…


NYC Schools to Open in January With Scaled-Up COVID-19 Testing

Public school students in New York City will be met with increased COVID-19 testing when they return from winter break, according to the city’s new plan. Under the plan released on Tuesday at a press conference with outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio and Mayor-elect Eric Adams, the return to school for the city’s more than…


New York Governor’s Office Says State Inspectors Won’t Perform Mask Mandate Checks

The office of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul late Monday said the state wouldn’t send inspectors to businesses to see if business owners are complying with the Democrat’s indoor mask mandate, an apparent reversal of remarks Hochul offered earlier in the day. “Enforcement will be done by local health departments,” Hochul spokesperson Hazel Crampton-Hays told…