Brooklyn judge rules Gov. Cuomo's lockdown measures that bans religious gatherings will NOT be lifted after Catholic and Orthodox Jewish groups sue to have his order blocked

A federal judge in Brooklyn allowed New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to reimpose limits on the number of people allowed to attend religious prayer services after he was sued by an Orthodox Jewish group that protested COVID-19 restrictions.

Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto declined a request by Agudath Israel of America to block the governor's measures, rejecting its argument that the Orthodox Jewish community was being unfairly discriminated against on religious grounds.

Agudath Israel, an umbrella organization representing devout Jews, asked the court for an emergency injunction before the community was to observe three holidays this weekend - Chol Hamoed Sukkoth, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah.

While Matsumoto said she sympathized with the group's arguments, the judge said it did not outweigh the need to protect the health of the greater public, The New York Times reported.

A federal judge in Brooklyn allowed New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to move ahead with restrictions on the number of worshippers allowed in prayer services in parts of the New York City metropolitan area where an uptick in COVID-19 cases has been reported.

Cuomo was sued on Thursday by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and an Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization who argued that the restriction violated First Amendment rights to worship freely. Groups of protesters gather in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Borough Park to denounce lockdowns of their neighborhood due to a spike in COVID-19 cases on Wednesday

'How can we ignore the compelling state interest in protecting the health and life of all New Yorkers?' the judge said.

Agudath Israel and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn filed separate lawsuits in federal court against Cuomo on Thursday over his orders limiting gatherings in churches and synagogues in some neighborhoods due to an uptick in COVID-19 cases.

The two groups argue that the governor's decree, which limits indoor worship to no more than 10 people, violates First Amendment rights to freely practice religion.

'We've been sued virtually every day for every action taken,' Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for the governor, said in a statement. 

'We're concentrating on reducing the virus in these hot spots and saving lives, period.' 

Cuomo angered Orthodox Jewish groups and community residents on Tuesday when he announced that he would reimpose lockdown measures in specific areas of the New York City metropolitan area that has seen renewed outbreaks in COVID-19 cases.

The second round of lockdowns has forced hundreds of businesses and schools to close.

On Wednesday night, an anti-lockdown protest staged by Orthodox Jews turned ugly when the crowd rounded on veteran Jewish Insider reporter Jacob Kornbluh, pictured left

Confusion and dismay reigned as the restrictions began to take effect on Thursday.

In Brooklyn's Borough Park section, the scene of two nights of protests against the clampdown by Orthodox Jews, some merchants subject to the shutdown order appeared to be operating as usual at midday, including a barber shop, cellphone stores and a toy store.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said 1,200 city workers would be out on the streets doing enforcement, though some of those efforts involved trying to educate businesses about rules imposed with little warning in hastily drawn zones with confusing borders.

All nonessential businesses in areas designated 'red zones' in parts of Queens and Brooklyn by Cuomo were supposed to shut.

Public and private schools were supposed to close, as well, within both the red zones and surrounding 'orange zones' designated by the Democratic governor.

Exactly where those zones began and ended, though, wasn't easily apparent from maps released by the governor's office or the city.

Parents at one Brooklyn school protested that their school had been shut by the city even though it lay outside the area the governor had designated for school closures.

The new restrictions involve parts of Brooklyn and Queens in New York City, sections of Orange and Rockland counties in the Hudson Valley and an area within Binghamton, near the Pennsylvania border.

Many of the neighborhoods where restrictions have been imposed are home to large Orthodox Jewish communities, and leaders of those communities have complained of being singled out for enforcement.

Agudath's lawsuit challenging the attendance limits said they would be especially disruptive on Jewish holidays this coming weekend.

'By depriving plaintiffs and their congregants of the critical religious worship and practices associated with these upcoming holidays, defendant has trampled on their constitutional right to the free exercise of religion,' the lawsuit said.

The tough new restrictions (above in red) will currently apply to neighborhoods in Brookyn and Queens where COVID rates are surging. Restrictions will also be imposed on some surrounding neighborhoods (above in orange) to act as what he described as a buffer

The hotspots that are under new lockdown restrictions are roughly centered around most of the nine zip codes in Brooklyn and Queens where positive test rates are surging as high as eight percent. In the hearts of the hot spots - color-coded as red zones - schools and non-essential businesses will close and houses of worship are limited to no more than 10 people. The orange and yellow zones face less strict restrictions

In its lawsuit, the Diocese of Brooklyn said the new restrictions 'go way too far, infringe way too much, and have no legitimate basis, as applied to the diocese's churches.'

Enforcement appeared to be underway in Brooklyn's Midwood section, where police had shut down at least two barber shops, including Coney Island Barber.

Owner Adeel Shakoor said business had been slow Thursday morning, with three customers coming in for hair cuts.

A police officer came by in the early afternoon, however, and told him to shut down and monitor the news for updates on when he may reopen.

'It's really not a good time have a barber shop,' Shakoor said, noting he hasn't been permitted to offer shaving services for months.

'It's hard to know what's going to happen.'

De Blasio urged business owners to follow the rules and avoid penalties or fines.

'When we have to bring consequences to bear we will,' he said, 'but the first thing we want to achieve is compliance.'

In Borough Park, hundreds of men took to the streets Wednesday to protest restrictions for a second night.

Anger boiled over.

Around 500 people gathered but the NYPD made no arrests and issued no citations

Videos posted on social media showed a crowd chasing Jewish Insider reporter Jacob Kornbluh down a street and then trapping him against a storefront, where an unmasked local activist screamed in his face.

Police officers then intervened and led Kornbluh to safety.

'I was just brutally assaulted, hit in the head, and kicked,' Kornbluh tweeted afterward.

Police say they're investigating but there were no arrests.

De Blasio called the encounter 'disgusting' at a briefing Thursday and promised police would refine their approach to further protests.

A night earlier, two people making video recordings of the unrest were also chased by the crowd, with one man needing medical treatment after he was beaten, according to relatives.

Overall, the coronavirus has been spreading at a slower rate in New York City than in much of the rest of the country.

But a small number of neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens have seen hundreds of new cases in recent weeks, leading to fears the spike could develop into a broader resurgence.

Cases of the virus were also climbing quickly in an area of upstate New York near the Pennsylvania border.

Binghamton Mayor Rich David said he tested positive for COVID-19 late Wednesday.

'I'm feeling fine and will be resting at home,' he tweeted on Thursday.

David's announcement came a day after he appeared at a news conference in Syracuse with other mayors.

Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan and Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh were among the other mayors at that news conference entering a precautionary quarantine.