Buffer zones emerge as response to angry protests, but legal questions remain

ALBANY — Over the past year, lawmakers across the state have proposed protest buffer zones around houses of worship in response to vitriolic protests.

Both New York City and Nassau County passed laws meant to protect worshippers from harassment near religious institutions. Suffolk County officials, state legislators and a Long Island congressman are pushing their own versions.

Proponents, including Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, argue that buffer zones balance the need to protect people from harassment while also allowing protesters to exercise free speech. They point to a jump in hate crimes across the state, including a sharp increase in reported cases of antisemitism.

But civil liberties and other critics argue that buffer zones infringe on freedom of speech and break with established legal precedent. On Friday, a group of labor unions, including 1199 SEIU and the New York State Nurses Association, sent a letter to state leaders voicing their opposition.

The unions argue that the measures are so broad they would effectively criminalize picketing activities outside certain buildings and subject unionized employees to potential felony charges if they come too close.  

State Sen. Sam Sutton, D-Brooklyn, who is sponsoring a buffer zone bill in the State Legislature, said during a March rally that be believes the state could balance the right to protest and the right to pray. He said he does not see them as competing values.

"We will protect our communities, we will defend our civil liberties, and we will uphold the values that make this state strong," Sutton said.

But Justin Harrison, senior policy counsel with ACLU of New York, said the proposed state law is far too broad since it would apply to everyone, including protests that a church or clinic might support. The proposal makes no difference between places that might want a buffer zone and those that don’t, he said.

"You’re capturing a lot of constitutionally protected protest," he said. "These laws are going to be used to single out people with an unpopular message. And they’re going to be used to sweep those people off the street."

The push to protect worshippers largely sprang out of protests in New York City near synagogues during Israel’s war against Hamas. One 2024 protest during a real estate expo at Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst drew competing pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters outside.

In response to pressure from Jewish advocacy groups who said worshippers were being harassed and threatened, state legislators introduced a bill late last year. And in January Hochul included a buffer zone proposal in her budget that would also protect access to healthcare facilities that offer reproductive health services, including clinics and hospitals.

"As hate driven attacks are on the rise across the state, Gov. Hochul's 25-foot buffer zone proposal will protect New Yorkers from harassment and safeguard fundamental freedoms while preserving the constitutional right to lawful expression," Hochul’s office said in a statement.

Temporary zones

Attempts to create buffer zones in areas that are likely to draw protests are not new.

Harrison said there have been instances where courts have upheld temporary zones for specific protests, such as the Westboro Baptist Church's practice of picketing funerals of service members during the U.S. war with Iraq.

 Buffer zones have also been proposed around abortion clinics, but with limited success. In 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a 35-foot buffer zone that Massachusetts enacted around abortion clinics.

Robin Chappelle Golston, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts, said in a statement that the group believes everyone has the right to safely enter a reproductive health care facility or house of worship.

"We have serious concerns about whether the proposed buffer zone legislation would withstand judicial scrutiny, and more so, chill the constitutionally protected activity of protest, which has been central to our efforts to secure the rights and freedoms we hold dear," she said in a statement.

Harrison noted that laws guaranteeing access to abortion clinics were passed in response to instances where women seeking care were assaulted, employees being harassed and doctors being shot.

"There is no such record of violence outside houses of worship in New York State and certainly not at the level which these bills would impose this remedy," he said.

Lori Brown, a distinguished professor at Syracuse University’s School of Architecture, has examined the issue through the lens of abortion rights and access to reproductive care.

Brown said having a buffer zone ensures a measure of safety, especially around medical clinics where protesters crowd right up to the entrance.

"Whether that's a religious space or an abortion clinic, that makes it even harder to enter in to the building or into the clinic," she said.

Brown said a typical buffer zone is often simply a painted line on the ground, reinforced through the presence of police, rather than a physical obstacle.

"It's only as good as those who respect it," she said.

Local action

While the state's buffer zone proposal is part of budget discussions, local governments have moved more quickly.

Late last year, the Nassau County legislature passed a bill creating a 35-foot buffer zone within an hour of services. The law also bans protesters from coming within 10 feet of anyone going to or leaving a religious site. The NYCLU is suing over the law.

Meanwhile, earlier this month New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he would sign a bill by the City Council to create the zones around houses of worship, but he noted he disagreed with the idea that all protests are a security concern.

Mamdani also vetoed a bill that would have created a similar zone around educational facilities.

"As mayor, I stand firmly on the side of New Yorkers' right to challenge power," Mamdani said. "The right to worship is as sacred as the right to protest."

And last week, U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, who is running for reelection this November in the heavily Jewish 3rd Congressional District, proposed a national bill to keep protesters 100 feet away from houses of worship and eight feet around a person going in or out.

"This law was crafted in a way to try and pass constitutional muster," Suozzi said, "protecting free speech but also protecting the freedom of religion and the right to worship and to try and fight against some of this awful activity that we've seen."