Protest “Buffer Zone” Bill Backed by Menin Passes City Council

One of the signature bills of the Julie Menin-led City Council’s 2026 legislative season, the so-called “Buffer Zone” bill protecting houses of worship from up close harassment by protestors, was passed on Thursday March 26— and by a veto-proof majority.

Though Mayor Zoharn Mamadani has signaled his opposition to the bill, it’s unclear if he will veto it and risk the embarrassment of being overridden.

Sponsored by Menin herself, the bill formally known as Intro 0001-2026—meaning it was the first bill submitted this year—has the descriptive name, “A plan regarding security perimeters adjacent to places of religious worship.” Menin introduced it to the Council on January 26 with its immediate genesis dating to the evening of November 19, 2025, when a raucous crowd of explicitly anti-Isreal, anti-Zionist, pro-Palestinian (and, oddly, pro-Puerto Rican nationalist) activists set up a protest just outside the Park East Synagogue at 163 E. 67th St.

This address, it should be noted, is on the same block, just steps away from the NYPD 19th Precinct stationhouse, with an FDNY station between them.

The claimed cause of the protest was that Park East was hosting an event by Nefesh B’nefesh, a Zionist group that helps Jews make “Aliyah,” a Hebrew word which has multiple meanings but in this case is refers to diasporic Jews returning to Israel.

The protestors fervently assert that Nefesh B’nefesh acts in violation of international law about Palestine and what is says are illegal West Bank settlements. The organization, and many other Jews, strongly dispute this. Whatever truth one adheres too, the protestors were very close to the Park East entrance and very loud, taunting and raucous. There was also a smaller group of counter protestors raising questions as to why did NYPD allow both groups of protestors so close to the synagogue.

Political blowback over the Park East Synaogue protest affair was immediate and ongoing, including Mayor Adams, who was in Uzbekistan when it occurred; NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch; Mayor-elect Mamdani, initially stoked the fires hotter by blaming the synagouge and not the protestors, suggesting that Park East hosting Nefesh B’Nefesh was a “misuse of sacred space.” Mamdani is viewed as an ideological anti-Zionist. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who is Jewish, appeared at the orthodox synagogue a week later to offer a public mea culpa that the NYPD had not done enough to protect worshippers.

Though little about these disputes has been resolved, the Council Member whose district it occurred in, Julie Menin, has proven resolute in trying to address two related issues: the rise of public antisemitism in New York, and what to do about confrontational protests outside any house of worship.

The Law, Language & The Right to Worship

In full, its text reads:

“This bill would require the Police Commissioner to establish a plan to address and contain the risk of physical obstruction, physical injury, intimidation, and interference at places of religious worship while preserving and protecting the rights to free speech, assembly, and protest. The plan would include considerations for the New York Police Department (NYPD) to use in determining whether, when, and the extent to which security perimeters may be used to protect entry to and egress from places of religious worship, and for communication with stakeholders, including the public, persons seeking to assemble or protest, and affected religious leaders. The Commissioner would be required to submit a proposed plan and a final plan to the Mayor and Speaker of the Council no later than 45 days and 90 days, respectively, after the bill’s effective date. The final plan would also be posted on NYPD’s website.”

An earlier version of the bill, which specified a 100-foot distance be kept between protestors and houses of worship was revised for free speech and other legal reasons. Some people still object to the present bill, including the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), other anti-Zionist activists and the New York Civil Liberties Union is revealing.

The complete City Council vote on Intro. 0001 was 44 yay, 5 nay and one abstention. All 10 Manhattan councilmembers voted in favor of it.

Of the five nays, four are DSA members: Tiffany Cabán of Queens, and Shana Hanif, Alexa Aviles and Chi Ossé of Brooklyn. Hanif, who is a Bangladeshi-American Muslim, and Avilés, who is Puerto Rican but fiercely anti-Zionist, have been criticized for blurring the lines between anti-Zionism and antisemitism.

The fifth nay vote belonged to Kayla Santuosso, who suceeded term-limited Justin Brannan. Santuosso’s district includes Bay Ridge, home to a substantial Arab community, including affluent and activist Palestinians.

For reasons that are unclear, Council Member Althea Stevens, who represents a district in the central Bronx that was once heavily Jewish, abstained from the vote.

Menin Takes a Victory Lap—to Park East Synagogue

Speaking at Park East Synagogue later after the bill’s passage with United Jewish Appeal signs emblazoned “Faith Without Fear” surrounding her, Menin said “This is such an exciting moment. There are people who doubted our ability to do this but we got it past the finish line... with this overwhelming vote of support, 44-5. And what that really means, is it means this City Council stands up for tolerance, it stands up for inclusion, it stands up for the ability of every single community to be able to worship in peace.”

“Those that said we were in any way interfering with the right to protest, I really want to address that. The First Amendment right to peacefully protest is sacrosanct. It is what our country is built on. Nothing in the bill stands in that way. People can peacefully protest and express their rights as existed before. But what this bill says is you do not have the right to intimidate and harass people as they are entering their house of worship.”