Squadron Passes “Critical Infrastructure Safety Act” Through Senate

Squadron Urges Assembly to Move Bill Forward

ALBANY – Today, State Senator Daniel Squadron passed the "Critical Infrastructure Safety Act" though the State Senate with bipartisan support. The legislation (S.2190/A.6792) would correct a flaw in state law that fails to differentiate between trespassing on critical infrastructure including bridges and tunnels, and other forms of trespassing. Squadron released the following statement in response to the Senate’s passage:

“Emergency resources and personnel need to be available for emergencies -- not wasted responding to stunts. The ‘Critical Infrastructure Safety Act’ makes clear that putting New Yorkers at risk and wasting important resources is unacceptable. I thank my Senate colleagues for passage today, and urge the Assembly to follow suit. I thank Brooklyn Borough President Adams, Assemblymember Lentol, and U.S. Senator Schumer for their continued focus on critical infrastructure safety.”

Squadron, working with Assemblymember Lentol and Brooklyn Borough President Adams, introduced the legislation in response to a string of trespassing incidents on the Brooklyn Bridge in 2014. Under the Act, critical infrastructure (already defined in state law) trespassers would be guilty of a Class A Misdemeanor. Current law does not differentiate trespassing on critical infrastructure from other types of trespassing (currently a Class B Misdemeanor). The legislation complements a similar piece of federal legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Schumer in 2014.

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