NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Friday said he is vetoing a bill that sought to secure educational facilities from protests, drawing harsh condemnation from a swath of leading Jewish groups.

Mamdani said he will allow a second bill for houses of worship to become law, although that measure passed by a veto-proof majority, while the schools bill did not.

The bills are politically divisive because of perceived conflicts between free speech and free assembly, and freedom of religion and anti-discrimination laws.

Leftist groups, including Jewish organizations and Mamdani allies, had opposed both bills, calling the measures an attack on free expression.

Mamdani had been mum about his plans for the bills and speculation had swirled for weeks about whether he would issue vetoes.

The two bills were introduced to the City Council after two vitriolic protests outside New York City synagogues and were approved by the council last month. One of the protests, in Queens, was also outside a school.

The measures are part of a broader push to rein in antisemitism in the city led by City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who is Jewish, and her allies in the legislative body.

The bill for houses of worship initially called for a protected zone of up to 100 feet, but the mention of distance was removed after the NYPD expressed concerns about logistics.

Mamdani said in a statement that he will “allow it to become law,” without confirming that he will sign it himself. If Mamdani takes no action, the bill will become law by Saturday with the expiration of a 30-day deadline.

“It initially raised constitutional concerns. However, the final version of the bill that passed is narrower in scope and effect,” Mamdani said in a statement. “Following a thorough legal review, I do not believe it poses the same risks it once did, and that is why I will allow it to become law. That said, I disagree with its framing of all protest as a security concern.”

Mamdani said the schools bill was “meaningfully different.”

“As the bill is written, everywhere from universities to museums to teaching hospitals could face restrictions,” he said. “This could impact workers protesting ICE, or college students demanding their school divest from fossil fuels, or demonstrating in support of Palestinian rights.”

Last month, the City Council passed two bills related to the constitutional right to protest — one for houses of worship, and one for educational institutions. Today, I’m letting one bill go into effect, and vetoing the other. I’d like to take a moment to explain why. Advertisement if(typeof rgb_remove_toi_dfp_banner != "function" || !rgb_remove_toi_dfp_banner("#Article_Incontent2")){ window.tude = window.tude || { cmd: [] }; tude.cmd.push(function() { if(navigator.userAgent.indexOf("rgbmedia-app") > -1){ tude.setDeviceType("mobile"); } tude.refreshAdsViaDivMappings([ { divId: 'Article_Incontent2', baseDivId: 'Article_Incontent2', } ]); }); } As........

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