NYC Council’s Safe Access bills ensure New Yorkers can passionately protest — without being scared to worship

New Yorkers have never been shy about their opinions. We argue loudly about who serves the best pizza or makes the best bagel, and we also protest proudly when matters of the heart tug on our vocal cords.

From Stonewall to the Women’s March, freedom of speech is as vital a pillar of our democracy as it is core to our identity.

But let’s make one thing clear: While the right to protest is absolutely sacrosanct, it is not a license to deny others their own rights — especially when it comes to praying or learning in peace.

No student should be intimidated on their way into school.

No parent should have to worry about bringing their child to a house of worship because of the harassment they may face.

It feels strange to have to draw those boundaries, and it might even seem unnecessary or overstated — and yet, that is exactly what is happening across our city.

We saw worshippers trying to enter Park East Synagogue who were met by a hostile crowd at the front door.

We heard demonstrators outside a yeshiva in Queens chanting slogans praising Hamas, a designated terrorist organization, within earshot of congregants.

These were not peaceful assemblies down the block. They were wanton confrontations at the doors to houses of worship.

That is not “free expression.” It is intimidation, it is antisemitic and it is the type of intolerance that triggers more hatred.

A cruel reality

Last week, 73 swastikas were graffitied across a children’s playground in Brooklyn.

And on International Holocaust Memorial Day, of all days, a rabbi was verbally and physically assaulted in Queens.

It is disgusting, and it is deplorable. But it is not new.

Jewish New Yorkers make up roughly 10% of the city’s population, yet last year, they were the victims of more than half of all reported hate crimes.

That statistic represents a cruel reality — and as the New York City Council, we must confront it head-on.

That is why on Thursday the council is introducing a package of bills to combat antisemitism and to protect safe access to houses of worship and educational facilities during protests.

Our Safe Access bills ensure that when protests are planned near sensitive locations — such as synagogues, churches, mosques and schools — the NYPD is transparent about its public safety risk assessment.

It requires law enforcement to provide a clear framework to determine how to maintain safe entry and exit while allowing protests to continue lawfully.

At the same time, demonstrators should and will retain their full First Amendment rights.

What they cannot do is weaponize their rights to deny other New Yorkers their freedom of religion or their basic sense of security.

Under these bills, the NYPD can create a public safety plan based on the potential risks to community safety — not based on the content of the speech.

Constitutional rights

We have struck this balance before. In 2008, after escalating harassment outside reproductive health clinics, the council passed laws to ensure safe access while preserving the right to protest.

That law survived legal challenges because it was crafted to be precisely constitutional.

We are asking the NYPD to achieve this same lawful blueprint. We will ensure these protections cover every New Yorker, regardless of the school or the house of worship they attend.

These Safe Access bills are not a stand-alone strategy to combat hate; they are merely one segment of our efforts to strengthen community safety and turn down the temperature across our city.

We are also introducing legislation to support emergency planning for religious institutions; enhance a needs-based security guard reimbursement program for nonpublic schools; establish a hotline to report antisemitic and other hate-based incidents; and provide educational materials to public-school students about the impacts of online prejudice.

Freedom of speech and freedom of religion are not opposing forces. They are both pillars of our democracy, and protecting one does not abandon the other.

New York has always been a city with voices as unwavering as our values. We can remain a place of passionate protest without tolerating hate that limits others’ liberties.

That is the balance we are restoring. And it is the least New Yorkers deserve.

Julie Menin is speaker of the New York City Council.