Nassau temporarily blocked from enforcing 'buffer zone' law near houses of worship

A federal judge has sided with free speech advocates in temporarily blocking Nassau County from enforcing a new law that creates a protest buffer zone around houses of worship, court papers show. 

The decision to grant a preliminary injunction, entered late Thursday, marks an early win for the New York Civil Liberties Union in its case against County Executive Bruce Blakeman and the legislature over the "Religious Safety Act," a bipartisan bill passed last December designed to protect those entering and exiting houses of worship from harassment. 

While not a final ruling, the motion calls into question other efforts by municipalities nationally, including New York City, and by Gov. Kathy Hochul and federal lawmakers to create and enforce similar legislation.    

Nassau's law — which Blakeman signed at his inauguration before hundreds of supporters — had made demonstrations, including distributing literature, within 35 feet of the entrance to a religious institution illegal. The statute increases the buffer to 100 feet an hour before and after scheduled services. Protesters are also barred from coming within 10 feet of an individual without consent when they are entering or exiting at a house of worship, such as temples, synagogues, mosques and churches.

NYCLU  attorney JP Perry told Newsday on Friday it was a "strong ruling" that affirms the law is "likely illegal and unnecessary." 

“It’s clear the purpose of Nassau’s law was to silence protected speech, deny residents their expressive rights to the sidewalks and streets, and to give Nassau police cover to  conduct arbitrary and biased arrests," Perry said in an earlier statement.

In his 63-page decision, U.S. Eastern District Judge Sanket J. Bulsara sided with the two Catholic women plaintiffs who brought the initial legal challenge because they wanted to distribute pro-immigration pamphlets outside churches and engage in conversations about immigrant rights. Bulsara said because the sidewalks around these places of worship are off-limits under the new law, it posed "severe burdens" on free speech activities.

"And Nassau County’s interests in protecting religious freedom and public safety are insufficiently linked to the imposition of such broad suppression," Bulsara wrote. 

It's unclear when the two sides will return to court. 

Blakeman, the Republican candidate for governor, last month said he was confident the county would win in court. He and a co-sponsor of the bill, Legis. Mazi Pilip (R-Great Neck) have framed the issue as intended to protect religious freedoms.  

In a statement to Newsday, Blakeman said: "The injunction was wrongfully issued based on the law and facts of this case." 

"There is no likelihood of success on the merits as freedom of religion under the Constitution is a guaranteed right and freedom of speech was not abridged," Blakeman said. 

Pilip proposed the bill to the 19-member legislature back in December in response to "aggressive protesters" in front of the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan. The bill passed unanimously.  

Other measures to create buffer zones around houses of worship have been enacted or discussed.

A bill in the House of  Representatives called the SACRED ACT has bipartisan support and would create a buffer zone of 100 feet around a house of worship and 8 feet around a person going in or out.  

"We took special pains to consult with First Amendment scholars and constitutional lawyers who said that our bill passes constitutional muster," said co-sponsor Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove). "Now I'm trying to build support amongst the Republicans to get on board with this in a way that satisfies these concerns and also gets their support."

Democrats in New York City passed a law that directs the NYPD to develop a perimeter around houses of worship.

Hochul, a Democrat, signed a bill last month that allows police to establish 50-foot perimeters outside houses of worship prohibiting protests.  

But Perry and critics contend that laws like these have a chilling effect on free speech.

"This ruling should put lawmakers across the state on high alert: unjustified and unne cessary buffer zones are illegal, and won’t hold up in court,” Perry said.

By Candice Ferrette

candice.ferrette@newsday.comcandiceferrette

Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.