Speaker proposes law to codify safe perimeters around houses of worship and schools

The Speaker of the New York City Council said he will introduce legislation to create safe perimeters around houses of worship and schools to protect worshippers and students while preserving the right to peacefully protest.

"We're gonna create a safe perimeter around all houses of worship and all schools," the Speaker said, describing the proposal as an effort to balance First Amendment protections with safeguards against intimidation or harassment.

The Speaker said the measure would rely on established time, place and manner restrictions to limit demonstrations near sensitive sites. He referenced a recent mayoral action that "recreated the office to combat antisemitism" and said Executive Order 2 directed NYPD Commissioner Tisch to review protections for houses of worship. "I indicated to him that I'm very supportive of that," the Speaker said, and added the council wants to "codify a safe perimeter" so protections would last across administrations.

The Speaker framed the policy as part of broader efforts to lower community tensions through education and dialogue while ensuring that protest activity does not infringe on other citizens' ability to worship or attend classes. He said codification would prevent these measures from being dependent on who holds the speakership or mayoralty.

The proposal is still at the discussion stage; the transcript records the Speaker's intent and references to the mayor's executive order and a directed NYPD review but does not include draft text, enforcement details, or a schedule for committee consideration. Questions from attendees about how long protections would remain in force and how they would be enforced were raised during the session but not answered with statutory specifics.

Next steps: the Speaker said staff have been working on the legislation for months and that he will pursue codification through the council's legislative process.