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2mo ago

NYC Council Passes Worship-Site Protest Safeguards With Veto-Proof Vote

The veto-proof vote sets up a 30-day mayoral review that could prompt a test of how far the city can regulate protests outside sensitive sites.

A member of the New York Police Department patrols in front of a synagogue in Williamsburg, Oct. 13, 2023. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
Protesters of the "buffer zone" legislation gather outside New York City Hall on March 26, 2026. (Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
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Anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement protesters in Foley Square in Manhattan on June 14, 2025.

Overview

  • The City Council, which voted Thursday, approved a houses-of-worship bill 44–5 and a separate schools bill 30–19, sending both to Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
  • The measures require the NYPD to draft and publicly post site-specific plans to prevent obstruction, injury, intimidation, and interference near entrances while protecting the right to protest, and they no longer set fixed distances after earlier drafts proposed 100-foot zones.
  • Civil-liberties groups and progressive lawmakers warn the rules could chill speech and expand police discretion, while Jewish advocacy groups and faith leaders say the plans will help congregants enter and exit safely.
  • Mamdani has not taken a position and now has 30 days to sign, veto, or allow the bills to become law; the worship-site bill can survive a veto, but the schools bill cannot unless more council members switch sides.
  • The push followed disruptive protests at Park East Synagogue and a Queens synagogue and rising antisemitic incidents, and it unfolds as Governor Kathy Hochul advances a separate statewide 25-foot buffer proposal.