Today, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani released the following statement on Int. 1-B and Int. 175-B:
New York City will always uphold both the right to prayer and the right to protest. These two fundamental freedoms help define this city and the people who call it home.
Last month, the City Council passed two bills related to these rights, known as buffer zone bills. Today, I am letting one of them go into effect and vetoing the other.
The first bill is Int. 1-B, which applies to houses of worship. It initially raised constitutional concerns. However, the final version of the bill that passed is narrower in scope and effect. It requires the NYPD to document its existing practices related to protests near houses of worship. 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. That said, I disagree with its framing of all protest as a security concern.
The second, Int. 175-B, which applies to educational institutions, is meaningfully different.
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.
This could impact workers protesting ICE, or college students demanding their school divest from fossil fuels or demonstrating in support of Palestinian rights. Int. 175-B 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. Nearly a dozen unions have raised the alarm about its impact on their ability to organize.
That is why I am vetoing this legislation.
New York City has long stood as a place where people - across generations and backgrounds - can speak out, organize, and demand change. That tradition is essential, and we will ensure that it continues, and that protection, prayer, and protest are guaranteed for every New Yorker.
