File #: Int 0001-2026    Version: Name: Plan regarding buffer zones adjacent to places of religious worship
Type: Introduction Status: Laid Over in Committee
Committee: Committee to Combat Hate
On agenda: 1/29/2026
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to a plan regarding buffer zones adjacent to places of religious worship
Sponsors: Julie Menin, Inna Vernikov, Joann Ariola , Eric Dinowitz, Lynn C. Schulman, Shaun Abreu, James F. Gennaro, Sandra Ung, Farah N. Louis, Mercedes Narcisse, Linda Lee, Gale A. Brewer, Kamillah Hanks, Oswald J. Feliz, Chris Banks, Susan Zhuang, Kevin C. Riley, Virginia Maloney , Phil Wong , Nantasha M. Williams, Elsie Encarnación, Justin E. Sanchez, Yusef Salaam, Ty Hankerson, Darlene Mealy, Christopher Marte, Shekar Krishnan, Shirley Aldebol, Harvey D. Epstein, Vickie Paladino, David M. Carr, Frank Morano
Council Member Sponsors: 32
Summary: This bill would require the Police Commissioner to develop and implement a plan to address and contain the risk of injury, intimidation, and interference at places of religious worship in New York City while preserving and protecting protest rights. The plan would address these issues through the use of buffer zones at the entrances to and exits from places of religious worship. The Commissioner would be required to submit a proposed plan, no later than 45 days after the bill’s effective date, to the Mayor and the Speaker of the Council. No later than 90 days after the effective date, the Commissioner would be required to send a final plan to the Mayor and the Speaker of the Council and post the final plan on the New York Police Department website. Lastly, the Commissioner would be required to implement the final plan no later than 120 days after the effective date.
Indexes: Report Required
Attachments: 1. Summary of Int. No. 1-A, 2. Summary of Int. No. 1, 3. Int. No. 1, 4. January 29, 2026 - Stated Meeting Agenda, 5. Hearing Transcript - Stated Meeting 1-29-26, 6. Fiscal Impact Statement - City Council, 7. Proposed Int. No. 1-A - 2/23/26, 8. Proposed Int. No. 1-A -Fiscal Impact Statement - City Council, 9. Committee Report 2/25/26

Proposed Int. No. 1-A

 

By The Speaker (Council Member Menin) and Council Members Vernikov, Ariola, Dinowitz, Schulman, Abreu, Gennaro, Ung, Louis, Narcisse, Lee, Brewer, Hanks, Feliz, Banks, Zhuang, Riley, Maloney, Wong, Williams, Encarnación, J. Sanchez, Salaam, Hankerson, Mealy, Marte, Krishnan, Aldebol, Epstein, Paladino, Carr and Morano

 

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to a plan regarding buffer zones adjacent to places of religious worship

 

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

 

Section 1. Chapter 1 of title 10 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 10-187 to read as follows:

§ 10-187 Plan regarding buffer zones adjacent to places of religious worship. a. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

Interference. The term “interference” means restricting an individual’s freedom of movement.

Intimidation. The term “intimidation” means placing an individual in reasonable fear of physical harm to themselves or to another individual.

Place of religious worship. The term “place of religious worship” means a building, structure, or place that is used primarily for religious or divine worship or assembly.

b. No later than 45 days after the effective date of the local law that added this section, the police commissioner shall submit to the mayor and the speaker of the council a proposed plan to address and contain the risk of injury, intimidation, and interference, while preserving and protecting protest rights, at places of religious worship in the city through the use of buffer zones at entrances to, and exits from, such places of religious worship, including parking lots or driveways of such places of religious worship.

c. No later than 90 days after the effective date of the local law that added this section, the police commissioner shall submit to the mayor and the speaker of the council, and post on the police department’s website, a final plan.

d. The proposed and final plans shall include considerations to be used by the police department in connection with:

1. Deciding to use a buffer zone at entrances to, and exits from, a place of religious worship, including the duration of such a buffer zone;

2. Determining the extent of such a buffer zone, as measured from entrances to, and exits from, a place of religious worship;

3. Implementing such a buffer zone, including steps taken by the police department to ensure that such a zone neither curtails protest rights nor impedes emergency access to, or egress from, a place of religious worship, including but not limited to access or egress by emergency personnel; and

4. Communicating with the public and individuals seeking to protest at, or to enter and exit from, places of religious worship when the police department has established such a buffer zone.

e. The police commissioner shall implement such plan no later than 120 days after the effective date of the local law that added this section.

f. Nothing in this section shall be construed or interpreted to infringe upon rights granted under the national labor relations act or the labor law.

§ 2. This local law takes effect immediately.

 

REC

LS #21301/20864/20910/20894/21304

2/23/2026 11:37 AM