S 8579: Elevates assault of an employee of the New York city department of parks and recreation to a class D felony.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8579 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE November 14, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SERRANO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to elevating an assault of an employee of the New York city department of parks and recreation The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 120.05 of the penal law, as 2 amended by chapter 267 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 3. With intent to prevent a peace officer, a police officer, prosecu- 5 tor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal 6 procedure law, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public health 7 sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian, sanitation enforce- 8 ment agent, New York city sanitation worker, an employee of the New York 9 city department of parks and recreation, a firefighter, including a 10 firefighter acting as a paramedic or emergency medical technician admin- 11 istering first aid in the course of performance of duty as such fire- 12 fighter, an emergency medical service paramedic or emergency medical 13 service technician, or medical or related personnel in a hospital emer- 14 gency department, a city marshal, a school crossing guard appointed 15 pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of the general municipal law, a 16 traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent or employee of 17 any entity governed by the public service law in the course of perform- 18 ing an essential service, from performing a lawful duty, by means 19 including releasing or failing to control an animal under circumstances 20 evincing the actor's intent that the animal obstruct the lawful activity 21 of such peace officer, police officer, prosecutor as defined in subdivi- 22 sion thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, regis- 23 tered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public health sanitarian, New 24 York city public health sanitarian, sanitation enforcement agent, New 25 York city sanitation worker, employee of the New York city department of EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD13785-02-5 
 S. 8579 2 1 parks and recreation, firefighter, paramedic, technician, city marshal, 2 school crossing guard appointed pursuant to section two hundred eight-a 3 of the general municipal law, traffic enforcement officer, traffic 4 enforcement agent or employee of an entity governed by the public 5 service law, [he or she] such person causes physical injury to such 6 peace officer, police officer, prosecutor as defined in subdivision 7 thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, registered 8 nurse, licensed practical nurse, public health sanitarian, New York city 9 public health sanitarian, sanitation enforcement agent, New York city 10 sanitation worker, employee of the New York city department of parks and 11 recreation, firefighter, paramedic, technician or medical or related 12 personnel in a hospital emergency department, city marshal, school 13 crossing guard, traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent 14 or employee of an entity governed by the public service law; or 15 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.