POLITICAL ARENA

Cohen: give private schools guards

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Northwest Bronx Councilman Andrew Cohen is pushing for a bill that would require the city to provide NYPD officers to any public or private school that requests them.

He and fellow Bronx Councilman Ritchie Torres held a press conference about the legislation at the Salanter Akiba Riverdale (SAR) Academy on West 254th Street on Monday.

“Nationwide, there are issues of public safety in our schools,” Mr. Cohen said while SAR students stood behind him. “We just think that this is important legislation and it needs to be passed immediately.”

Schools like SAR, a Modern Jewish Orthodox private institution, currently make their own security accommodations. SAR Academy’s Principal Rabbi Binyamin Krauss said his school has paid for uniformed, off-duty NYPD officers to provide security for the past two years. The same goes at SAR High School on West 259th Street.

Under legislation introduced by Brooklyn Councilman David Greenfield, the city would have 10 days to answer requests for public safety officers from any school in the city. The city would have to provide at least one officer to every school seeking support. School safety officers respond to emergencies and monitor who comes and goes, among other tasks.

Mr. Torres estimated implementing the legislation would cost about $50 million. The proposal came as the City Council continues to push for an expansion of the NYPD’s ranks, a move Mayor Bill de Blasio has opposed. The mayor’s press office did not immediately respond to an inquiry about Mr. Greenfield’s bill.

“We should not create a double standard or a second class when it comes to the safety of our children,” Mr. Torres said on Monday. “There are about 230,000 children who attend non-public schools, and each and every one of them deserve to be safe in their school environment.”

Andrew Cohen, Ritchie Torres, Jeff Klein, Montefiore Medical Center, political arena, Shant Shahrigian
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