Overview
- Hochul renewed Wednesday her bid for a 25-foot no-protest zone at houses of worship with criminal penalties, following disruptive rallies outside synagogues in Manhattan and Queens.
- She invited First Amendment challenges, saying “bring it on,” as civil-liberties groups warn the rule would curb protected speech.
- The proposal would focus enforcement where protests are expected or underway so congregants can enter without harassment, not with officers posted at every sanctuary.
- The state plan is tougher than New York City’s new approach that orders the NYPD to write site-by-site access plans, which Mayor Zohran Mamdani is still weighing because of free-speech concerns.
- Legislative leaders are reviewing the bill during late budget talks, and Hochul paired the push with $70 million for hate-crime security grants that fund cameras, reinforced doors, alarms, training, and cybersecurity.