New York mayor’s message to bodegas: ban shoppers who won’t remove masks

Spokesman for city's corner stores defends plan as disability advocates say it breaks federal law

New Yorkers love bodegas, their hyper-localized corner stores that are points of both convenience and community. Bodegas stayed open through the worst of the pandemic, providing neighborhoods with a much-needed sense of normalcy - as long as shoppers wore their masks. But this week, Mayor Eric Adams proposed a major reversal: telling shopkeepers not to let in any customers wearing a face covering.

Adams, a former cop who has cultivated a tough-on-crime reputation during his time as mayor, said that potential thieves had exploited the ubiquity of face coverings as a way to hide their identity. He cited an unknown assailant who wore a face mask and Tyvek suit when he killed a 67 year-old Manhattan deli worker on 3 March.