A heated Community Education Council meeting on Manhattan’s Upper East Side descended into chaos Wednesday night when a trans-rights activist physically blocked a conservative parent from leaving, according to multiple accounts and video from the scene.
The incident occurred during a meeting of Community Education Council District 2 (CEC 2), which oversees public schools in Lower Manhattan, Midtown, and the Upper East Side.
Maud Maron, a parent advocate and outspoken critic of the city’s gender identity policies, said she was prevented from exiting the meeting by a protester who confronted her at the door.
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“She lunged at me, she barred the door with her body and she said I couldn’t leave,” said Maron, who is now calling for federal intervention to address growing safety concerns at the meetings.
The woman involved in the confrontation, identified as a parent of two transgender children, was joined by other activists who followed Maron from the meeting room and into the schoolyard.
“I am used to protestors and demonstrators loudly disagreeing with me — in fact, I support their constitutional right to do so — but the last CEC meeting was scary,” Maron said.
“Without the beefed up NYPD presence, I would not have been physically safe to walk out of the building and down the street.”
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The event is the latest in a series of disruptions that have plagued CEC 2 meetings for over a year, often involving trans-rights protesters.
The disruptions began after the council passed a resolution urging the New York City Department of Education (DOE) to review its policy allowing transgender girls to compete in female sports — a review the DOE has so far declined to undertake.
At previous meetings, activists have chanted, stormed the dais, and danced the “Macarena.”
Wednesday’s meeting marked the one-year anniversary of those protests.
Attendees wore face masks, Palestinian scarves, and birthday hats while chanting songs including Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and “This Little Light of Mine,” which were modified to promote trans rights and call for the removal of current CEC members.
DOE Deputy Executive Director Jesse Mojica asked attendees not to shout over council members and stated that school safety agents were present for support.
However, many parents say that presence has not been sufficient.
CEC 2 President Craig Slutzkin described the situation as “untenable,” citing rising fears among families attending the meetings.
“The DOE needs to do something big to fix this,” Slutzkin told the New York Post.
“Simply having increased safety officers didn’t prevent the harassment.”
In a letter to U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon sent Saturday, Maron appealed for federal assistance, stating that continued threats and harassment are making it difficult for elected council members to perform their duties.
“Ongoing harassment and threats now jeopardize my safety and that of other council members, hindering our ability to serve,” Maron wrote.
She also called on New York City Mayor Eric Adams to allow CEC meetings to be held remotely due to the growing security concerns.
This is what WOMEN face when we try to speak up as WOMEN for WOMEN in NYC. #SexNotGender @StandingforXX @KDansky @IWN pic.twitter.com/0YTBpAr51n
— Maud Maron (@MaudMaron) November 14, 2022
In the letter, Maron further urged Secretary McMahon to address the DOE’s 2019 gender guidelines, which replaced references to “sex” with “gender identity.”
She claimed the guidelines have prevented open debate and created confusion around the rights of female students and athletes.
“This stifles democratic participation and undermines girls’ rights to fair treatment under federal law,” Maron said.
She is now calling for the formation of a review committee that includes both female athletes and transgender students “to discuss in a calm and respectful fashion how to move forward in compliance with Title IX.”
Republican Candidate for Manhattan DA, Maud Maron, who is challenging Alvin Bragg:
“People in both parties want safer cities, better schools and sensible policies… Alvin Bragg.. released a ‘day one memo’ saying there were certain crimes he just wasn’t going to prosecute..” pic.twitter.com/MuamEQrG9c
— America (@america) November 27, 2024
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