NEW YORK CITY, NY – Mayor Zohran Mamdani vetoed a City Council Bill opposed by several unions requiring a security perimeter be set up when a demonstration takes place at an educational institution.
This controversial legislation would have required NYPD to set up security perimeter around educational facilities during demonstrations. Many in the City Council have concerns that perimeters are needed during demonstrations to protect children in schools as well as others during a protest activity. Some protests near schools had become violent as Palestinian protests at Columbia University recently.
Intro 175-B’s critics warned the Bill would stifle free speech and possibly affect the ability of Unions to picket and organize.
In a statement announcing his veto, Mamdani said the “problem” with the Bill is that it defines Educational Institutions too broadly as well as the “Constitutional concerns it raises regarding New Yorkers’ fundamental right to protest.”
“This could impact Workers protesting ICE or college students demanding their school divest from fossil fuels or demonstrating in support of Palestinian rights,” Mamdani said. The Mayor added he would allow a similar law that applies to Houses of Worship,
Professional Staff Congress (PSC) of City of New York (CUNY) President James Davis, supported Mamdani’s veto of the bill. The PSC was one several local groups to send a letter to Mamdani urging him to veto the legislation.
