(The Center Square) – New York City Mayor Eric Adams is calling for a statewide ban on wearing masks during protests, saying the current rules don't do enough to deter demonstrators who shield their identities to commit acts of vandalism and violence.

In an interview Sunday, Adams called on state lawmakers to restore prepandemic restrictions on masks that allowed police to charge someone with a crime for congregating in public while wearing a mask or disguising their identity. He said the state's rules, including changes approved by lawmakers earlier this year, are inadequate to protect public safety and prevent antisemitism.

"When you see people at a protest like that with masks on, some had gas masks on, it just emboldened them to do bad behavior," Adams told NY1 during the interview. "And if we ban that from happening and people have to show their faces, they are less likely to commit some of the disorderly actions that we see at protests, even on our college campuses and what we saw in other municipalities."

Adams' remarks came after more than 50,000 New Yorkers participated in largely peaceful “No Kings” demonstrations Saturday.

Last year, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed a mask ban on subways in response to recent antisemitic incidents and protests by face-covered demonstrators. The proposal was opposed by civil liberties advocates and others who said the changes would lead to selective enforcement of minorities and infringe on the free speech rights of peaceful protesters.

Hochul revived the proposal as part of the recently approved budget, signed in April. The new restrictions make it a misdemeanor to wear masks to "harass or threaten others" with exemptions for medical, religious and weather-related uses.

New York state repealed an 1845 ban on wearing masks in public places in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, when state leaders and health officials urged people to cover their faces to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Masks were required on New York City public transit during the public health emergency, and some straphangers have continued covering their faces to protect themselves against poor air quality in the subway system.

But last year's anti-Israel protests, which roiled Columbia University and other city college campuses, rekindled concerns about demonstrators committing acts of vandalism and antisemitism while shielding their identities from authorities.

Republican lawmakers filed a bill earlier this year that would make wearing masks during a protest or public gathering a misdemeanor crime, punishable by up to 90 days in jail.

In August, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican, signed the Mask Transparency Act. The law makes it illegal to wear a mask or face covering "for the purposes of concealing an individual's identity in public places." The law exempts people who cover their faces for health, religious or cultural reasons. Misdemeanor violators face up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Nassau lawmakers who approved the bill said it was in response to violent pro-Palestinian demonstrations in New York targeting the Israeli government in which protesters hid their identities with scarves and face coverings