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New York City Published September 20, 2022 2:00am EDT

NYC's gun-free zones don't 'make

sense' with experts calling strategy
'low-hanging fruit'
Former high-ranking NYC police chief calls new gun-free zone legislation an 'extremely confusing law'

By Stephanie Pagones | Fox News

Times Square designated as a gun-free zone as part of NY’s gun reform efforts
Fox News’ Laura Ingle reports on New York’s effort to designate ‘sensitive places’ as gun-free zones throughout the state.

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Law enforcement experts are raising their eyebrows over New York City’s "gun free zone"
law, which established a perimeter lined with laminated signs prohibiting the public from
carrying firearms within, as one longtime police executive said the new legislation doesn’t
"make sense" and is "extremely confusing."

"Ididn’t like the idea of setting up special zones where permitted gun carrier holders could
not go," said Terence Monahan, formerly the highest-ranking uniformed member of the
New York Police Department.

"The people who are doing the crime

in the city, the people who are killing
each other, are not the guys with
licenses."
— Brooklyn City Council Member Kalman Yeger, via NY1

Monahan spent just months shy of 40 years with the NYPD before he retired as Chief of
Department in 2021. He said when he first heard the news of the "gun-free zones," it "didn’t
make sense."

"It’sgoing to make things very confusing for police officers on the street dealing with it," he
told Fox News Digital. "If someone is law enforcement, retired law enforcement, they’re
allowed to have firearms in these zones. But other permit holders have to stop at a certain
street and turn around if they have their firearms, can’t go into certain stores or locations."

NEW YORK ‘GUN FREE’ ZONES GO INTO EFFECT

A sign was erected near West 47th Street and Sixth Avenue in New York City. (Karlo Pastrovic/Fox News Digital)

Monahan further called it "an extremely confusing law," and said police should be focusing
instead on the illegal gun-holders.

"In 40 years of policing, the main thing I always wanted was that illegal gun carrier –
someone who never had a permit, someone who’s out there looking to do harm with that
gun," he said. "That’s what the police need to focus on."

NEW YORK LEGISLATION DESIGNATES TIMES SQUARE A 'GUN FREE' ZONE

This map, provided by the New York City Mayor's Office, shows the perimeter of the gun-free zone (New York City Mayor's
Office)

Just last week, New York City Council officially defined the perimeter of the zone from
Sixth to Ninth avenues and West 40th to West 53rd streets, local news station NY1
reported . New York City Mayor Eric Adams first announced the state legislation at the end
of August.

The law took effect September 1 in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that shot
down the state requirement that people show their specific need for a gun in order to be
granted a concealed carry permit in New York City. Justices wrote that the mandate
violated Americans’ Second Amendment right to "keep and bear arms."

People walk past a "Gun Free Zone" sign posted on 40th Street and Broadway on August 31, 2022 in New York City. (Photo
by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

While it loosened the requirements for those who want to carry concealed weapons in
New York City, New York State responded by adding more requirements for city permit
applicants – including requesting applicants share information regarding their social
media accounts and complete training courses – and establishing the "gun-free zones."

In addition to Times Square, the City also barred guns from being brought into other
"sensitive areas," such as churches, parks and theaters.

A general view of the Times Square in New York City, United States on September 16, 2022. (Photo by Aytac Unal/Anadolu
Agency via Getty Images)

But not without some pushback. Brooklyn City Council Member Kalman Yeger argued
Wednesday that the council neglected to fully address the citywide gun violence, NY1
reported.

"The people who are doing the crime in the city, the people who are killing each other, are
not the guys with licenses," Yeger said, according to the report.

Signs read "Gun Free Zone" in New York City's Manhattan borough. (Jennifer Golotko/Fox News Digital)

Monahan echoed Yeger's sentiment, telling Fox News Digital that a criminal who wants to
bring a gun into Times Square "is going to carry that gun into Times Square, same as he is
going to carry it into a development somewhere in Brooklyn in [Bedford-Stuyvesant]."

"You're not going to prevent that based on these laws, but you will prevent a law-abiding
citizen who rightly got his permit from walking into that area," he went on.

A general view of the Times Square in New York City, United States on September 16, 2022. (Photo by Aytac Unal/Anadolu
Agency via Getty Images)

Monahan also stressed that he was not "looking to see citizens arming themselves or
using firearms."

NYC AX-WIELDING SUSPECT IN MCDONALD'S CAUGHT-ON-CAMERA RAMPAGE

RELEASED WITHOUT BAIL: REPORTS

"That’s not what we need. We have 35,000-plus New York City police officers out on the
street. We don’t need the confusion of anyone pulling out a gun."

‘GREAT WHITE WAY’

A general view of the Times Square in New York City, United States on September 16, 2022. (Photo by Aytac Unal/Anadolu
Agency via Getty Images)

New York City is still rebounding from the drastic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic,
both on the tourism industries and on the commuter lifestyle – both of which were
effectively drawn to a halt for months at a time.

A record 66.6 million out-of-staters visited New York City in 2019, and spent $47.4 billion
while there, according to the New York State Comptroller’s Office The $72 billion tourism .

industry from 2019 plummeted, data show.

A general view of the Times Square in New York City, United States on September 16, 2022. (Photo by Aytac Unal/Anadolu
Agency via Getty Images)

About 34.6 million people visited New York City in 2021, and 56.4 million are expected to
visit by the end of 2022, city tourism department NYC & Company reported .

Meanwhile, the city is also seeing the continued re-emergence of office-goers returning to
work, including those who will be passing through Times Square.

NYPD data shows crime was down during the most recent week-long period, which ended
on September 18. But total index crime remains up by 34.2% as of the 18th, the police
figures show.

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John Jay College of Criminal Justice adjunct professor Joseph Giacalone called the gun-
ree zones "low-hanging fruit" and told Fox News Digital he believed people viewed them
as "a joke."

"Even if it did stop people in Times Square, stop criminals in Times Square carrying guns,
the subways are still a problem," said Giacalone, also a former NYPD detective sergeant.
"You can bring as many signs as you want. Listen, we still have no parking signs and
people still double park … signs don’t do anything."

Fox News Digital's Matteo Cina contributed to this report.

Stephanie Pagones is a Digital Reporter for FOX Business and Fox News. Story tips can be sent to
stephanie.pagones@fox.com and on Twitter: @steph_pagones.

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