Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
MTA Issues Zero Summonses In First Week Of New Mask Compliance Enforcement Effort
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Sep 19, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Ted Shaffrey/AP/Shutterstock
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Sep 19, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
At the start of the week the MTA announced there would be $50 fines for transit riders refusing to wear a mask. By Friday afternoon, the agency announced that MTA police and Bridge and Tunnel officers had issued zero tickets.
Instead, the agency said there had been 1,700 “positive encounters across the subway system with riders either not wearing masks or not wearing masks properly covering mouth and nose. They have not had to issue summonses to achieve the desired result, [which is] enhanced mask usage that respects fellow New Yorkers and promotes health and safety,” a spokesperson wrote in a statement.
The MTA shared data that noted from Monday to Thursday there were 857 incidents in which officers verbally reminded riders to wear their masks properly. Additionally, 167 masks were handed out.
The NYPD, which had stopped issuing fines after a directive in May, began to help the cash-strapped agency with enforcement of its new mask policy this week. The goal is to ensure riders are less exposed to contracting the coronavirus as commuters begin their return to public transportation as the city begins loosening restrictions and New Yorkers head back to work. The MTA continues to clean up subways, continuing its policy to shut down the entire system from 1 to 5 a.m. to disinfect subway cars using electrostatic technology.
“We’re working with our partners in the MTA, what we want is compliance,” NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said on NY1 Monday. “We’re not looking to give summonses and further hurt people that are already hurting in New York City, but we want compliance.”
At the start of the week the MTA noted that across the system about 90% of riders usually wear a mask, but it’s still looking to get universal mask compliance. Riders have had no qualms in reporting mask-less riders to the MTA on Twitter, where they're often directed to provide comments on its customer feedback website.
Mask-wearing is extremely important to wear in an underground subway, particularly in long commutes, said Dr. Scott Weisenberg, an Infectious Disease specialist at NYU Langone, in an interview with Gothamist back in May.
"If you're on a subway that's going from the Bronx to Brooklyn, and you're going to be on that for an hour, that's a higher risk than, say, if I'm going two stops," said Weisenberg.
The NYPD hasn’t responded to requests for information about how many fines its officers issued this week.
One day after the MTA directed the city's cops to crack down on maskless transit riders, a teenager confronted a pair of NYPD officers for not wearing masks inside a Brooklyn subway station. They are caught on video calling him a "male version of Karen" in response.
Tagged
masks
MTA
subway
Stephen Nessen
Stephen Nessen covers transportation. Since 2008 he has reported on everything from Occupy Wall Street, the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, Hurricane Sandy, to Trump’s campaign for president. His transportation reporting has taken him everywhere from the MTA’s secret Rail Control Center to the gleaming subways of Seoul. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
With election 3 weeks away, Hochul and Blakeman to square off in lone NY governor debate
The hourlong debate is the candidates’ best chance to sell their competing visions to New York voters ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
By
Jon Campbell
Published Oct 13, 2026 at 6:30 a.m. ET
NYC's taxi union teams with Uber, hedge fund to demand healthcare 4 driver deaths
New York city's taxi workers want lawmakers to use a surcharge that goes to the MTA to pay for a health fund for drivers.
By
Stephen Nessen
and
Ramsey Khalifeh
News
NYC's taxi union teams with Uber, hedge fund to demand healthcare 4 driver deaths
New York city's taxi workers want lawmakers to use a surcharge that goes to the MTA to pay for a health fund for drivers.
By
Stephen Nessen
and
Ramsey Khalifeh
Man shot by ICE in NYC still has bullet lodged in neck, attorneys say
By
Liam Quigley
NY measles spread prompts 'disaster' emergency. It didn't have to be this way, health commissioner says.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
NYC wants to move deliveries onto the waterways. It's starting with a 55-year-old boat.
By
Liam Quigley
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .