Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Passport
  • Support WSKG
Donate
  • Donate
  • logo
  • logo
  • Donate
  • Home
  • News
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Schedules
  • Events
  • Arts
  • Education
  • History
  • Science
  • Donate
  • More
    • About
    • Contact Us
    • Passport
    • Support WSKG

WSKG - Local news and arts, broadcasting NPR radio and PBS TV.

WSKG thanks our sponsors...
  • Donate your vehicle to support WSKG

WSKG (https://wskg.org/news/broome-county-to-consider-annoyance-law-thursday/)

  • Donate
  • Home
  • News
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Schedules
  • Events
  • Arts
  • Education
  • History
  • Science
Listen Live WSKG
Listen Live WSKG Classical

Watch Live WSKG TV
Watch Live PBS Kids
Learn at Home
Covid-19 information

Broome County To Consider “Annoyance Law” Thursday

By Gabe Altieri | December 18, 2019
More
  • More on Annoyance law
  • Subscribe to Annoyance law

BINGHAMTON, NY (WSKG) – The Broome County Legislature is expected to vote on Thursday on a resolution supporters say will protect emergency responders and opponents worry is ripe for abuse.

Protestors disrupt November’s meeting of Broome County Legislature over Emergency Responders Act of 2019. (Gabe Altieri/WSKG)

The resolution, known as the Emergency Responders Act of 2019, would allow law enforcement to arrest anyone who alarms, annoys or threatens emergency responders. This covers paramedics, firefighters and police, among others. Supporters say it’s necessary to keep these people safe.

But opponents, like Andrew Pragracz, claim those protections already exists and worry this will give police an excuse to arrest people who engaged in peaceful protests. “They’re trying to pass a law that makes being annoying illegal,” Pragracz said. “Guess what? Protesting is about being annoying.”

Pragracz spoke before last month’s meeting of the Broome County Legislature, when dozens of protestors disrupted proceedings. Several were arrested and charged after clashing with law enforcement.

Opponents of the resolution have claimed it’s a response to arrests that came out of protests during Binghamton’s Columbus Day Parade earlier this year. Supporters on the Broome County Legislature have denied that, saying the resolution was in the works before those protests.

A similar measure was signed into law in Monroe County this month. The NYCLU has come out against it and the measure could face a legal challenge if it passes.

At last month’s meeting, Legislator Bob Weslar worried about the cost of such a challenge. “Let Monroe County fight that fight because they have the cash to do so and we don’t,” Weslar said. “And, after that fight has been meted out, then we can bring it back to the floor and vote on it.”

Thursday’s meeting of the Broome County Legislature is scheduled for 5:00 P.M.

Recent Posts

  • What to Watch for in Cuomo’s State Budget Proposal This Week

    NEW YORK NOW - Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to unveil on Tuesday his plan for filling the largest budget deficit he’s encountered during his time in office, with potential tax hikes and cuts in spending on the table if the state doesn’t get help from Congress. The elephant in the room, according to budget analysts, will be what the state projects to receive in federal aid, and if the budget gap may narrow on its own in the coming months.

  • Funding Hold Up Threatens New York’s Progress Against AIDS

    BINGHAMTON, NY (WSKG) — 2020 was the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was also the target for New York to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Ending it meant fewer than 750 infections per year.

  • More Security At New York’s Capitol, Although No ‘Specific Threat’

    ASSOCIATED PRESS - Security was tightened around the New York state Capitol on Thursday and law enforcement officials around the state were focusing on potential threats, even as they continued to track down people involved in last week's mob attack on the U.S. Congress. The  FBI warned  several days ago that armed protests by violent Trump supporters were being planned in all 50 state capitals in the days leading up to the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

  • Vaccine Sign-Up Confusion Continues, Appointments Booked Through April

    ALBANY, NY (WSKG) - One day after announcing that five new state-run vaccination sites are opening this week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office is warning that appointments for the limited number of vaccines at those sites are already booked through April. On Wednesday, Cuomo’s office announced that large-scale vaccination sites at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City, the Westchester County Center, the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, State University of New York at Albany and Jones Beach are opening this week and will vaccinate thousands of New Yorkers in the coming months.

  • Rollout Of COVID-19 Vaccines In Rural PA Requires Flexibility And Trust From Communities

    STATE COLLEGE, PA (WPSU) — As the general public awaits COVID-19 vaccination across the country and in Pennsylvania, questions remain about how vaccines will reach rural communities and how accepting of the remedy rural residents will be. During a public hearing held by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania Wednesday, Dr. George Garrow, Chief Medical Officer of Primary Health Network, which has dozens of community health centers in central and western Pennsylvania, said adapting vaccine delivery for rural communities is key.

WSKG thanks our sponsors...

About WSKG

WSKG connects you to local and global news and the arts online, on the radio, and on TV. NPR and PBS affiliate.

Contact Us

email: WSKGcomment@wskg.org

phone: 607.729.0100

address: 601 Gates Road, Vestal, NY 13850

DONATE

Pay an underwriting invoice

  • WSKG
  • Arts
  • Education
  • Science
  • News
  • Radio
  • Schedule
  • TV
  • About
  • WSKG Staff
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Public Reports & Policies
  • Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)
  • Protect My Public Media
FCC PUBLIC FILES
WSKG-FM
WSQX-FM
WSQG-FM
WSQE
WSQA
WSQC-FM
WSQN
WSKG-TV
WSKA
Disabled and need assistance with the online FCC public file?
Contact Gregory Keeler
WSKG
601 Gates Road
Vestal, New York 13850
607-729-0100
gkeeler@wskg.org

Stay Connected

Like Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on YouTubeFollow Us on InstagramSubscribe via RSS

© Copyright 2021, WSKG

Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News.

Back to top ↑

Change Location
To find awesome listings near you!