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Prior to the Super Bowl weekend, dozens of restaurants and bars filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction to halt the 10 p.m. curfew, which was put in place to limit the spread of the virus as the state contends with a second wave of infections.
However, citing the state’s authority to protect public health during the pandemic, a federal judge in the Southern District ruled that the curfew would stay in place.
“To preserve the public health and mitigate further needless death, Governor Cuomo took drastic steps aimed at stopping the spread of the COVID-19 virus,” the judge wrote in an order this week. “(Cuomo) was entitled to take these measures pursuant to the police powers delegated to the legislative and executive branches.”
A motion seeking to overturn the state’s curfew was also shot down by judges in Western New York. The curfew had been temporarily lifted for 91 establishments as the proceedings were ongoing, but ultimately officials ruled against them.
“New York State and the country at large are currently in the midst of the most critical stage of the pandemic to date, with death tolls still rising, vaccinations not yet reaching a critical mass, and highly contagious new coronavirus strains proliferating," the motion stated.
“In light of the ongoing rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths, the public interest would be served by permitting the ongoing enforcement of the 10 p.m. closure rule.”
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