They're not hypocrites, it's just that NYC has a better class of people, and COVID recognizes and honors that

oh, we’re just so special

As does CNN. August 8, 2021: South Dakota's Sturgis Motorcycle Rally: A 'cautionary tale' in the age of Covid-19” 

August 21, 2021: CNN sponsors “We Love New York” mass gathering in Central Park

God showed his displeasure at the latter event, sending down a flood to drown the sinners and flush them from the grounds (though I understand he spared the carriage horses), but I’ve seen no regret expressed by CNN that it encouraged such reckless behavior in the first place.

I personally met and chatted up quite a few Sturgis-bound motorcyclists as I made my through South Dakota and parts west, and found them far more friendly and likable than anyone I’m likely to meet in NYC. Perhaps God agrees.