Following the passage of New York’s statewide Buffer Zone Bill, a coalition of 23 State Assemblymembers released a joint statement explaining their support for the measure and criticizing what they viewed as insufficient local protections for worshippers.

The lawmakers argued that an initial proposal for a narrower 25-foot boundary was insufficient to address the rise in targeted harassment and emphasized the need for a uniform statewide approach to protecting houses of worship, religious schools, and other communal institutions. In their statement, they explicitly pointed to municipal shortfalls in New York City – specifically highlighting the Mayor’s veto of a local school safety perimeter transparency and reporting bill – as the direct catalyst for state-level intervention.

“That municipal failure left many Jewish New Yorkers deeply disappointed and exposed,” the Assemblymembers wrote. “If the City of New York cannot find it within themselves to take the necessary steps to protect our children, the State of New York must and will step in to act. We refuse to let local executive vetoes dictate the safety of our children, and we came together to fight for a state-level bill with real teeth.”

 

The following 23 legislators signed the joint statement:

 

Assemblymember Didi Barrett (106 AD)

Assemblymember Sam Berger (27 AD)

Assemblymember Edward Braunstein (26 AD)

Assemblymember Patrick Carroll (96 AD)

Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz (81 AD)

Assemblymember Christopher Eachus (99 AD)

Assemblymember Simcha Eichenstein (48 AD)

Assemblymember Deborah Glick (66 AD)

Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi (28 AD)

Assemblymember Paula Kay (100 AD)

Assemblymember Charles Lavine (13 AD)

Assemblymember Dana Levenberg (95 AD)

Assemblymember Jennifer Lunsford (135 AD)

Assemblymember Karen McMahon (146 AD)

Assemblymember Amy Paulin (88 AD)

Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato (23 AD)

Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal (67 AD)

Assemblymember Nily Rozic (25 AD)

Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright (76 AD)

Assemblymember Steve Stern (10 AD)

Assemblymember David Weprin (24 AD)

Assemblymember Aron Wieder (97 AD)

Assemblymember Kalman Yeger (41 AD)