https://vigilantnews.com/post/new-york-county-travel-bans-weather/
NEWS New York County to Enforce Travel Bans for Weather and Other ‘Catastrophes’
Locals must now apply for “essential worker” status to obtain movement passes in the event of a state of emergency.
This article originally appeared on The Dossier and was republished with permission.
Guest post by Jordan Schachtel
There has yet to be a reckoning for all of the government tyranny we witnessed since 2020, leaving power hungry politicians under the impression that they can go back to the Covid era rights restricting toolbox whenever they deem it necessary.
Under the “leadership” of Erie County, New York county executive Mark C. Poloncarz, the Buffalo area county has announced a portal for applying for “essential worker” status in the event of a state of emergency.
“The travel exemption portal will define specific categories of workers using a tiered concept to identify who would be exempt from a travel ban in order to commute to and from their place of employment. The list of essential employees will be reviewed annually and employers will be asked to provide updates when an essential employee’s work status changes for any reason that warrants removal from the exemption list,” the news release said.
The Dossier spent lots of time Friday searching to see if such measures were even legal, hoping to find inquiries in the news media defending New Yorkers from potential rights violations. Unfortunately, we came up empty. In fact, all we found from the corporate media were questions challenging the legal status of businesses that wanted to remain open during a declared emergency.
Poloncarz has used his police powers as county executive to declare a “driving ban” in the event of a snowstorm.
The driving bans were put in place at the end of 2022, after a major snowstorm wreaked havoc on the area and resulted in the deaths of stranded motorists. Poloncarz then took the opportunity to announce the new policy as a way to “do something” about the crisis at hand.
Now, one year later, they are dramatically expanding that power with the help of both state and federal resources.
“Under the New York Public Officers Law, no one may travel except personnel deemed essential during the emergency,” he declared Friday on X/Twitter, promising to sic law enforcement on those caught driving without a movement pass.
But he also made it clear that it’s not just snowstorms that he can use to justify curtailing the rights of Erie County residents. In his thread, Poloncarz decided that essential worker status applies to a travel ban related to “some other type of catastrophe” as well.
