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6d ago

NYPD Backs Revised NYC Bill Shifting Worship Protest Rules to Police-Written Protocols

Legal concerns over blanket distance rules prompted a shift to NYPD-written protocols.

About 100 protesters rallied on the City Hall steps before the City Council Committee to Combat Hate's hearing took place, Feb. 25, 2026, New York, New York. (Joseph Strauss)
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NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 19: Pro-Palestinians gather at 'No Settlers on Stolen Land' protest against a settler-recruitment event at the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan, hosted by Nefesh B'nefesh, an organization that helps American Jews immigrate to Israel, on Wednesday night, November 19, 2025, New York City, United States. Pro-Palestinian protesters shouted phrases including 'Intifada revolution', 'Death to the IDF,', 'No peace on stolen land', 'We don't want no Zionists here,' and "resistance is glorious," as a smaller group of Jewish counter-protesters insulted, shone bright flashlights, blasted horns and whistles at the pro-Palestinians outside the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan, New York City. (Photo by Selçuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Police legal chief Michael Gerber told a Council hearing the department has no objections to the amended measure, saying it would formalize existing practice and preserve protesters’ “sight and sound” access while barring obstruction.
  • The revised bill, led by Speaker Julie Menin, drops a fixed 100-foot perimeter and instead orders the NYPD to draft, publish and implement site-specific protest-response procedures on set timelines.
  • The proposal has majority support on the Council, but Mayor Zohran Mamdani has not committed to signing it, citing the need to review the final text and legal analysis.
  • Civil-liberties and progressive groups, including the NYCLU and Jews For Racial & Economic Justice, argue the measure threatens free speech and grants excessive discretion to police, while some lawmakers label it largely symbolic.
  • Momentum stems from disruptive protests outside synagogues such as Park East and in Kew Gardens Hills, with supporters citing rising anti-Jewish incidents and the NYPD acknowledging it “got Park East wrong.”