Press Contact: Sophie Ellman-Golan | sophie@jfrej.org
New York, NY – In response to Mayor Mamdani’s veto of Intro 175B, a bill that would further empower the NYPD to crack down on protestors outside of broadly defined “educational facilities,” Audrey Sasson, Executive Director of Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ) released the following statement on behalf of the organization:
“Mayor Mamdani’s decision to veto Intro 175B is a victory for free speech and civil liberties in New York City. By declining to endorse Intro 1B, the mayor further demonstrated his commitment to protecting New Yorkers’ First Amendment rights, and his refusal to endorse what is quite simply bad policy.
We are grateful to the mayor for listening to the thousands of workers, students, parents, legal experts, advocates, and communities like ours that overwhelmingly opposed this legislation due to concerns about discriminatory NYPD violence and the federal government’s crackdown on our right to protest. We call on the city council to listen to these voices as well, and uphold the mayor’s veto of 175B.
The ‘buffer zone’ bills are not about keeping New Yorkers safe. They are about silencing our voices. That they do so under the auspices of combating antisemitism doesn’t just add insult to injury; it actively endangers Jews. At best, these bills change little. At worst, they divide and silence New Yorkers, and contribute to the broader political climate targeting protestors. New Yorkers deserve real policy solutions with teeth, which is why we urge Mayor Mamdani and the City Council to fund the NYC Against Hate Violence policy platform endorsed by the Progressive Caucus.”
Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ) has been a leading voice in opposition to Intros 1B and 175B since the bills were first introduced. The legislation originally called for the NYPD to establish 100-foot buffer zones around houses of worship and educational facilities. Pushback from the group and partner organizations from labor unions, community-based organizations, parents, students, and civil liberties experts played a key role in significantly watering down both bills and preventing 175B from passing with a veto-proof majority.
As the deadline to sign, veto, or lapse the bills approached, groups ramped up efforts with rallies and letter-writing campaigns led by JFREJ, NYC-DSA, JVP, AQE, and the PSC. In recent days, a number of other labor unions, including 1199 SEIU, CWA, The Teamsters Local 804, joined the chorus of voices calling on Mayor Mamdani to veto 175B.
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Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ) is a 6,000-member grassroots organization and the home of New York’s Jewish Left. For 35 years, JFREJ members have organized alongside our neighbors to transform New York from a playground for the wealthy few into a real democracy, free from all forms of racist violence.