Midwood/Borough Park City Councilman David G. Greenfield‘s persistence on the need for the city to allocate money for security guards at all nonpublic schools has finally paid off.
That after City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Greenfield today announced that the City Council will pass Greenfield’s legislation early next month to provide non-public schools with security guards upon request. Greenfield has been trying to get the measure passed for the past 21 months.
“Nothing is more important than our children’s safety,” said Greenfield. “This legislation recognizes that all children, regardless of where they go to school, deserve to learn in a safe environment. I am especially grateful to Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito for her support and guidance over the last 21 months as we worked towards passage of this vital legislation. I thank Mayor de Blasio for recognizing the importance of security for all school-children and for taking a bold step in protecting the most vulnerable New Yorkers. Finally, I am especially grateful to my 44 colleagues who have stood with me in support of children’s safety. This would not have happened without them and the unwavering support of students, parents, school administrators, labor organizations and leaders from the Christian, Muslim and Jewish faiths who strongly advocated for this protection.”
TeachNYS estimates that the legislation will allow more than 100 Jewish schools and more than 100 Catholic schools to hire a security guard, covering almost half of the entire student population at Jewish and Catholic schools in New York City. Jewish and Catholic schools alone comprise almost 80% or 200,000, of the City’s 250,000 nonpublic school student population. Nearly 70% of the student population of the City’s Muslim schools will be covered as well.
“This first -of- its kind program in New York City is going to help keep children in private schools safe,” said Mark-Viverito. “The New York City Council is proud to lead on this landmark public safety measure and we look forward to its implementation.”
