In December 2025, outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams issued an executive order directing NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch to develop and implement new regulations for protests occurring near houses of worship. This directive followed a significant protest outside the Park East Synagogue on the Upper East Side in November 2025, which Tisch herself described as "turmoil".

Key Regulatory Actions and Directives

- Frozen Zones at Entrances: Commissioner Tisch admitted the NYPD failed to set up a "frozen zone" at the synagogue's entrance during the November protest, allowing demonstrators to directly confront congregants. Under the new directive, the NYPD is tasked with ensuring clear paths for entry and exit to prevent intimidation.

- Evaluation of Proximity Limits: The executive order specifically requires Tisch to evaluate proposals for regulating protest activity occurring in close proximity to religious institutions.

- Facilitation vs. Restriction: The directive emphasizes a dual mandate: actively facilitating the constitutional right to protest while ensuring that these demonstrations do not occur without "unnecessary restrictions" that might lead to chaos or harassment.

- Increased Protective Posture: Tisch has committed to an NYPD posture that recognizes the "sensitivity of these locations" and the heightened fear within religious communities, promising future enforcement that prevents members and parents from feeling intimidated

In December 2025, outgoing Mayor Eric Adams issued Executive Order 61, which specifically tasked NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch with developing new "frozen zone" and buffer zone policies for protests at houses of worship.

However, on January 1, 2026, newly inaugurated Mayor Zohran Mamdani revoked this order, effectively halting the implementation of these specific city-mandated zones.

As of early 2026, the status of these policies is as follows:

Proposed (Now Revoked) Frozen Zone Policies

Before being rescinded by the Mamdani administration, Commissioner Tisch was directed to evaluate the following:

- Prohibition Zones: Establishing areas extending 15 to 60 feet from the entrances of houses of worship where protest activities would be strictly prohibited.

- Designated Protest Zones: Creating specific areas outside these institutions where demonstrations would be permitted but contained.

- Service-Specific Restrictions: Implementing additional limitations on protests that coincide with publicly scheduled religious services to prevent disruption of worship.

- Guaranteed Ingress/Egress: Tisch publicly committed the NYPD to a posture that ensures "people could easily enter and leave" religious buildings, admitting the department failed to maintain such a zone during a high-profile November 2025 protest at Park East Synagogue.

Mamdani Distances Himself From Democratic Socialists’ National Agenda
Aug. 28, 2025

Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic front-runner in the New York City mayor’s race, is fending off attacks that seek to link him to to some of the D.S.A.’s more controversial stances.

"I was elected as a Democratic Socialist and I will govern as a Democratic Socialist"
Jan. 1, 2026

Democratic Socialists of America: Who They Are and Their Stance on Israel

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has evolved from its founding in the early 1980s as a Zionist organization under Michael Harrington to a far-left group openly hostile to Israel. Today, the DSA influences U.S. progressive politics through endorsements, campus activism, and the support of prominent elected officials, including New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. Its positions on Israel and Jewish issues have raised concern among Jewish and pro-Israel organizations, including American Jewish Committee (AJC), as the far-left group advances anti-Zionist campaigns, Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) initiatives, and rhetoric that ignores or even tacitly endorses antisemitism and Palestinian terror groups like Hamas.

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How has the DSA reacted to October 7 and the War in Gaza?

The DSA’s hardline stance on Israel began alienating key progressive allies and threatening its political influence following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, massacre.

- Pro-Palestinian Rally in NYC: Days after the attack, DSA promoted a rally where some attendees celebrated the killings, prompting condemnation from DSA-backed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and then-Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY).

- Membership Departures: Rep. Bowman, already criticized internally for visiting Israel, let his membership lapse; Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) quit, citing DSA’s refusal to condemn terrorism.

- Other Criticism: LA Council member Nithya Raman denounced the national statement for ignoring Hamas’ violence, and she was subsequently censured by the group after she sought an endorsement from a liberal Zionist group, Democrats for Israel.

- Political Consequences: By mid-2024, DSA withdrew its endorsement of Ocasio-Cortez after her participation in an antisemitism panel, and also condemned her July 2025 vote on funding for Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, but she remains affiliated with the DSA; NYC Comptroller Brad Lander resigned, saying the DSA’s reaction “crossed a moral line.”

Senate Bill S8599
2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to certain crimes of interference with health care services or religious worship