War protester Cindy Sheehan’s imminent visit to New York City has provoked a bitterly divided reaction from city leaders.

Some city politicians say they plan to give Ms. Sheehan a hero’s welcome when she and her vast entourage of anti-war activists make their first appearance in the city this weekend as part of a bus tour across the nation after they packed up their campsite near President Bush’s Crawford, Texas, ranch August 31.

Some city lawmakers are talking about proclaiming a day in her honor. The president of Brooklyn, Marty Markowitz, has offered to “personally welcome” Ms. Sheehan to Brooklyn Borough Hall.

Others, like City Council Member Simcha Felder, hope to send a different message to a woman they view as a fanatic who despises America and Israel and doesn’t speak for other families who lost their children in the war in Iraq.

“As far as I’m concerned, she can go back to where she came from,” Mr. Felder said in a telephone interview. “If she came to my neighborhood, I would drive her out. I would do everything I could to make her life miserable, legally.” Mr. Felder represents the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Borough Park, Midwood, and Bensonhurst.

Ms. Sheehan, who was in the Gulf Coast this week and in Raleigh, N.C., last night, is scheduled to speak at Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn on Sunday in an event that organizers say will be attended by representatives from several anti-war groups, including Military Families Speak Out, United for Peace and Justice, and Veterans for Peace.

The next day, Ms. Sheehan is to speak at Riverside Church in Manhattan, along with Rep. Charles Rangel of Harlem.

City Council Member Letitia James, who represents the Fort Greene neighborhood in the 35th district, said she found Mr. Felder’s view toward Ms. Sheehan to be deeply offensive, saying Ms. Sheehan ” has the right to protest as any American.”

Ms. James said she would try to have the City Council pass a resolution honoring her and said she would encourage Mr. Markowitz to proclaim a day in her name, as borough presidents often do to honor notable events and people.

“We are welcoming her into the Fort Greene community with open arms,” she said. “She represents crying mothers all across the country who are losing their children in a senseless war.”

City Council Member Bill de Blasio of Brooklyn called Ms. Sheehan “a hero” and said he hopes to hear her speak on Sunday. “She’s having a profound impact in the national debate,” he said.

Told about her appearance in his beloved borough, Mr. Markowitz said in an e-mailed statement that Ms. Sheehan is “welcome in Brooklyn and I would love to personally welcome her to Brooklyn Borough Hall.” A spokeswoman for his office, Jocelyn Aframe, wouldn’t say whether Mr. Markowitz would name a day in the calendar after her.

Ms. Sheehan’s appearance at the church, which can accommodate more than 300, was arranged by the Green Party candidate for Brooklyn president, Gloria Mattera. Ms. Mattera said her opponent, Mr. Markowitz, was not invited to the event because his presence would be “deflecting what the purpose is.”

The reaction from city leaders reflects national attitudes toward Ms. Sheehan, whose son Casey, 24, was one of eight soldiers killed in Baghdad on April 4, 2004. Ms. Sheehan’s month-long vigil and her demand to have a face-to-face discussion with Mr. Bush enflamed an anti-war movement that had lost momentum and drew thousands of protesters to Mr. Bush’s vacation ranch. Her vigil site, known as Camp Casey, also attracted pro-war demonstrators who claimed that she and her allies were exploiting her son’s death.

Ms. Sheehan also drew criticism from a letter she allegedly e-mailed to “Nightline” that accused Mr. Bush of fighting a war to help Israel. She allegedly wrote: “Am I emotional? Yes, my first born was murdered. Am I angry? Yes, he was killed for lies and for a PNAC Neo-Con agenda to benefit Israel. My son joined the army to protect America, not Israel. Am I stupid? No, I know full well that my son, my family, this nation and this world were betrayed by George Bush who was influenced by the neo-con PNAC agendas after 9/11.”

Ms. Sheehan said she did write to “Nightline” but denied writing that specific passage.