Gov. Hochul vetoes legislation aimed at returning NYPD comms to public airwaves

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a piece of legislation Friday that would’ve restored some public access to police radio frequencies.

Police agencies around the nation, including the NYPD, have moved to encrypt their radio frequencies in recent years blocking public access, including that of the media.

The bill Hochul vetoed would’ve required New York law enforcement agencies to make their frequencies available, at the agencies’ discretions, to emergency services organizations and professional journalists.

Hochul’s veto memo, reported by Syracuse.com, cited public safety concerns in explaining why the governor struck down the bill.

“In a time when public officials face growing threats of extreme violence, the bill also requires a police agency to effectively make real-time disclosure of the official’s movements to bloggers and paparazzi in addition to more traditional journalists,” Hochul wrote in the memo.

Media across New York City, including the Advance/SILive.com, admonished the NYPD and Mayor Eric Adams after it opted to encrypt its radio frequencies citing similar safety concerns.

Traditionally, media outlets relied on those radio frequencies to report on crime and emergency responses helping to better inform the public of what was happening in their neighborhoods. The FDNY radio frequencies remain unencrypted.

Despite the opposition, Hochul’s veto largely puts to rest the state legislature’s efforts to roll back law enforcement encryption efforts as the legislation did not pass with veto-proof majorities.

Staten Island’s state elected officials voted for the legislation on party lines with Democrats — State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, who represents the North Shore, and North Shore Assemblymember Charles Fall — backing the bill and Republicans — State Sen. Andrew Lanza, who represents the South Shore, the Mid-Island’s Assemblymemner Sam Pirozzolo, the South Shore’s Assemblymember Michael Reilly, and the East Shore’s Assemblymember Michael Tannousis — voting against it.

A similar bill passed the City Council Thursday.