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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani cast his first veto on Friday, stopping the City Council Int. 175-B which would have forced the NYPD to announce plans to handle protests near schools and other educational institutions.
It is the latest sign of Mamdani’s growing conflict with Council leadership, deepening an early power struggle with Council Speaker Julie Menin over policing, public safety and freedom of speech.
“At issue is how broadly this bill defines the institution of education and the constitutional concerns it raises about New Yorkers’ fundamental right to protest,” Mamdani wrote in a statement. “As this bill is written, everywhere from universities to museums to teaching hospitals could face restrictions.”
“This could have implications for workers protesting against ICE, or college students who want their school to divest from fossil fuels or show support for Palestinian rights,” he continued.
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin have started over, charged with blocking the NYPD from protecting student protests. (Gardiner Anderson/New York Daily News)
“Int. 175-B is not a small measure of public safety; it is a piece of legislation that has alarmed much of the labor movement, reproductive rights organizations, and immigration advocates, among others, throughout this City. About a dozen unions have raised the alarm about its impact on their ability to organize,” the mayor added.
Menin will work to gather votes to remove Mamdani from the bill, which passed last month 30-19.
“Ensuring that students can enter and leave their schools without fear of harassment or intimidation should not be controversial,” Menin wrote in a statement. “This bill simply requires the NYPD to clearly state how it will ensure safe access in the event of threats of disruption or physical harm, while fully protecting First Amendment rights.”
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NYPD officers arrest a protester during a demonstration on Third Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on April 13, 2026, during a two-week ceasefire in the US-Israel conflict with Iran. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)
The bill, sponsored by Councilman Eric Dinowitz, would have required police to send a protest response plan to the mayor and speaker and post it online. It would also require the police commissioner to provide a public contact point for any attempts to manage protests near educational facilities.
Dinowitz dismissed claims that the bill threatens free speech.
“Should students be abused on the way to school? I think the answer is no,” he told the New York Times.
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Left-wing opponents said the move would increase protest policing and moderate protected speech.
The battle has also exposed one of the biggest political issues at City Hall: how to respond to the protests that have taken place in Israel and the war in Gaza. The issue gained momentum after a violent demonstration outside a Manhattan synagogue last fall, when protesters chanted, “Death to the IDF,” and, “Globalize intifada.”
“Sending a message to New Yorkers that we have something to worry about protesting in or around schools, libraries, teaching hospitals is the wrong message in these times, especially when the Trump administration is coming with a hammer,” New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman told the Times.
Jewish groups including the UJA-Federation of New York rejected the veto, condemning “City Hall’s gross failure to show all New Yorkers that our safety is a priority.”
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“At a time when Jewish communities and the rest of our city are facing serious threats, this law represents an important step to ensure that all schools and community centers can be better protected,” the group wrote in a statement.
Mamdani and Menin — the city’s first Jewish speaker — showed signs of trying to cool things down this week, including a Thursday dinner to discuss the pending veto issue and other issues, the Times reported. Friday’s decision suggested that the détente may not last long.
