Mayor Bill de Blasio’s recent declaration requiring the wearing of a mask in public spaces where social distancing cannot be maintained appears to contradict a 19th-century New York state “anti-mask” law – instituted at the time to quell explosive anti-rent riots, as reported by The New Republic.

Defender organizations are raising concerns over the conflicting directives and questioning how police will enforce the law, with special consideration given the fact that the law has historically been used selectively to harass marginalized communities along race, gender and class lines.

“How is that going to play out specifically in communities of color?” asked Jennvine Wong, a staff attorney for the Cop Accountability Project at the Legal Aid Society. “You may have young black men, for example, who are already concerned about wearing a face covering that isn’t immediately obvious as a surgical mask, because they are worried about being targeted by police. People have been hassled in other places for just that thing.”