Zohran Mamdani Vetoes Bill Requiring Police At School Protests
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Vetoes Bill Requiring Police At School Protests
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued his first veto on Friday over a city council bill that would have required the New York Police Department to establish “buffer zones” outside schools whenever there is a student protest.
According to the New York Times, Mamdani released a video statement explaining his decision to veto the bill. Mamdani said that the primary reason he’s blocking Int. 175-B is due to its broad definition of what constitutes an educational institution. “The problem is how widely this bill defines an educational institution and the constitutional concerns it raises regarding New Yorkers’ fundamental right to protest. As the bill is written, everywhere from universities to museums to teaching hospitals could face restrictions,” Mamdani said.
He added that the bill could impact “workers protesting ICE, or college students demanding their school divest from fossil fuels, or demonstrating in support of Palestinian rights.”
“The bill is not a narrow public safety measure; it is a piece of legislation that has alarmed much of the labor movement, reproductive rights groups, and immigration advocates, among others, across this city,” his statement continued. “Nearly a dozen unions have raised the alarm about its impact on their ability to organize. That is why I am vetoing this legislation.”
Politico reports that the veto has highlighted the strained relationship between Mamdani and Council Speaker Julie Menin, who have been at odds over how to reduce the city’s deficit. Anonymous sources familiar with Menin’s thinking told Politico that she’s seriously considering whipping up the votes necessary to pass the bill with a veto-proof majority. The bill passed last month with a 30-19 margin, only four votes shy of the needed majority.
“Ensuring students can enter and exit their schools without fear of harassment or intimidation should not be controversial,” Menin said in response to Mamdani’s memo. “This bill simply requires the NYPD to clearly outline how it will ensure safe access when there are threats of obstruction or physical injury, while fully protecting First Amendment rights.”
Councilman Eric Dinowitz, the bill’s primary sponsor, believed the criticism was largely in bad faith. “Should students be harassed on the way to school? I think the answer is no,” Dinowitz told the Times. Dinowitz added that “There’s no text in the bill that restricts free speech.”
Conversely, Council Member Tiffany Cabán praised Mamdani’s veto for not giving police officers “more tools to silence dissent and brutalize protesters.”
“I am thankful the mayor has vetoed this ill-conceived bill that would further enable efforts to criminalize protests and stifle freedom of speech,” Cabán said in a statement.
The bill was introduced in response to pro-Palestine protests that have taken place at several colleges and universities in New York, as well as pro-Palestine protests outside synagogues.
From the New York Times:
It mandates that the Police Department present the mayor and speaker with a plan — which must then be posted online — to manage risks posed by protesters without infringing on their First Amendment rights. The police commissioner must also offer a public point of contact about any effort to mitigate a demonstration.
It was one of two pieces of related legislation that the Council passed in March over substantial opposition from the political left.
The other bill in the package imposed similar requirements on the Police Department regarding protests outside of houses of worship, but, like the vetoed bill, had been watered down from the original version introduced by Ms. Menin.
Mamdani did pass the second bill establishing similar buffer zones outside houses of worship. “It requires the NYPD to document its existing practices related to protests near houses of worship,” he said. “Following a thorough legal review, I do not believe it poses the same risks it once did, and that is why I will allow it to become law.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering a similar bill on the state level during budget negotiations. Hochul’s approach would create protest-related buffer zones outside houses of worship and reproductive medical clinics, but it has also received criticism from labor organizers for being too broad in its language.
“We already have current legal protections, but we also know the unintended consequences,” Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts President and CEO Robin Chappelle Golston, a former Hochul aide, told Politico. “If something doesn’t stand up against judicial scrutiny, we could actually lose more rights and more protections.”
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