The New York City Council passed a law Tuesday requiring the NYPD to produce a transparency report on how it manages security perimeters around K-12 schools and childcare centers during protests, according to the New York Post. The measure passed with a veto-proof majority and is a direct legislative workaround after Mayor Zohran Mamdani vetoed a broader bill in April that would have created formal protest buffer zones around educational institutions including colleges.
Mamdani said the original bill would have restricted free-speech rights. “Everywhere from universities to museums to teaching hospitals could face restrictions,” he said in a statement at the time, citing concerns about workers protesting ICE, students demanding school divestment from fossil fuels, and demonstrators supporting Palestinian rights.
The new law, sponsored by Democratic Councilwoman Elsie Encarnación of East Harlem and co-sponsored by Councilman Eric Dinowitz of the Bronx, requires Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch to submit the transparency report to Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin. The report must detail when the NYPD chooses to set up a security perimeter and how it ensures those perimeters do not curtail rights to free speech, assembly, or protest, including student walkouts, or block emergency access to or exit from school buildings.
“This legislation ensures children and families can safely access schools without fear or intimidation while protecting constitutional rights, which are sacrosanct,” Menin said. Dinowitz said every child deserves to get in and out of school without being grabbed or having epithets hurled at them. “This bill makes sure there’s a clear, public plan to keep students safe while fully protecting every New Yorker’s right to protest,” he said.
Jewish Community Relations Council of New York CEO Mark Treyger called the bill a “major victory.” He cited a Queens synagogue in Rego Park where an early childhood program operates. Swastikas were scrawled across the property in an antisemitic hate crime. “Safety cannot begin after a crisis,” Treyger said. UJA-Federation of New York also praised the legislation.
A council source told the Post the law is “symbolic” because it excludes colleges and universities, where the source said the most violent protests have taken place, naming Columbia University and CUNY City College. The source said there have not been many protests near K-12 schools, but the bill is “good to send a message” to prevent intimidation of students and staff.
Separately, the Council also passed a law allowing the NYPD to set up buffer zones around synagogues and other houses of worship, the Post reported. That measure parallels a state law signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul establishing a 50-foot buffer zone around religious centers, which creates a new criminal penalty for interfering with access to a house of worship: a class B misdemeanor carrying up to 90 days in jail and a maximum $500 fine.
