EDITORIAL
‘OUR CITY AGAINST
THE KILLERS’
Amid tragedy, the NYPD and its largest union,
the Police Benevolent Association, are uniting
with the Adams administration in an effort
to tackle gun violence after one of New
York’s Finest, Police Officer Jason Rivera, was
senselessly shot dead Friday night, Jan. 21.
The two focal points in the gun violence crisis now gripping
our city seem to be the proliferation of illegal guns and
the question of whether bail reform had resulted in more
bloodshed on our streets.
Let’s start with the latter point, which is often disputed.
Law enforcement officials have said the bail reform bill enacted
in 2020 went too far and created a revolving door for
violent criminals to get back on the street quickly and commit
more crime.
Bail reform supporters, on the other hand, say that the
changes — made to ensure nonviolent offenders wouldn’t
have to remain locked up for long periods on Rikers Island
— have not been a primary factor in the uptick in violence.
The situation demands that state lawmakers once again
review the bail reform bill, working with top law enforcement
experts, to ensure that any loophole that may allow a
judge to set free a violent offender be closed.
To merely take another look, re-evaluate and change the
law does not mean we should reverse whatever progress
that bail reform did make. Its goal was to ensure that nonviolent
individuals accused of committing nonviolent crimes
are not indefinitely incarcerated among more dangerous
individuals. That goal should remain.
The best way to combat illegal guns in New York City
is through increased law enforcement. We believe the
time has come for the NYPD to reinstate, in some form, the
Anti-Crime Units dissolved in 2020, but with fundamental
changes to ensure that these officers do not violate individual
rights and freedoms.
It’s clear that the NYPD needs some form of a tactical
team designed specifically to target gun criminals and get
them off the streets, along with the weapons. We understand
the concerns criminal justice advocates have had
with regard to Anti-Crime Units, and the Adams administration
and the NYPD must take care to adequately meet
those concerns. But the city just cannot wait any longer.
Over the past couple of years, too many people have been
shot. Too many people have been killed. Too many families
have been broken by gun violence in the city. It’s time for all
of us to stand up and say, “Enough.” “It is our city against the
killers,” Mayor Eric Adams said after Rivera’s death.
That’s the reality of our situation today. Let’s come together
to get the guns off the street, get the criminals behind
bars and restore peace in the city.
HOW TO REACH US
TIMESLEDGER | Q 12 NS.COM | JAN. 28 - FEB. 3, 2022
“It is our city against the killers,” Mayor Eric Adams said Jan. 21 after the shooting death of Police Officer Jason
Rivera. Photo by Dean Moses
Transit commuters deserve access to clean, bathrooms
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MTA Acting Chairman Janno Lieber’s statement
at his New York State Senate confirmation
hearing, “We are a transportation agency;
reopening subway station restrooms is not
a priority,” is disappointing.
I guess when riding the subways, he has never had
the urge to go. Perhaps his bladder is stronger than
most riders’ or he wears Depends to and from work.
Thousands of subway or commuter rail riders who utilize
existing restrooms on a daily basis would disagree
with Lieber.
Long Island Rail Road restrooms at Penn Station,
Atlantic Terminal, Jamaica Station and dozens of
other stations are open. Metro-North Railroad Grand
Central Terminal and dozens of other stations are
open. Staten Island Railway passengers have direct
access to both the NYC Department of Transportation
Staten Island Ferry St. George and Whitehall Street
Ferry Terminal restrooms. Perhaps Lieber forgot that
his colleague, then NYC Transit President Sarah Feinberg,
in June 2021 said she would like to reopen NYC
Transit subway station bathrooms as quickly as possible.
This never happened.
There are 76 existing bathrooms at NYC Transit’s
472 subway stations. Until the early 1960s, subway riders
respected authority. There was a 10-cent fee to use
station bathrooms. That generation of riders did not
litter subway stations or buses, leaving behind gum,
candy wrappers, paper cups, bottles and newspapers.
They didn’t spit, urinate or defecate on subway platforms
or cars. Pre-COVID-19, riders were always reluctant
to use subway station bathrooms, even when
available. Many stations had no working facilities or
were closed. No one wanted to deal with the lack of toilet
paper, soap or hot water, unhinged doors to stalls
or finding a mess left behind by the previous patron.
Who wanted to find others using it as a safe place for
consumption of drugs or for sex?
Homeless people afraid to go to shelters end up
using the bathroom sink to shower in an attempt to
maintain hygiene. Why not assign a matron to each
male and female bathroom? Install security cameras
to provide protection for both employees and riders
who use bathrooms. Ask any local business, college or
hospital to adopt an adjacent station bathroom to help
cover the costs of staffing. In exchange, give the sponsor
free advertising space at the station. If necessary,
charge a nominal fee to use the facility. Reopening
secure, safe subway station bathrooms with adequate
supplies of toilet paper, soap and hot water would be
one way to attract several million former pre-COVID
19 riders who have yet to return. Access to a public
restroom is a basic human right.
Surely, within the $51 billion 2020-2024 Five-Year
Capital Plan funding can be found to reopen the existing
76 NYC Transit subway system bathrooms. Bringing
more subway stations into compliance with the
Americans for Disabilities Act should also include
construction of restroom facilities at those stations
lacking such amenities. The MTA was eligible for $1.5
billion in funding from the Federal Transit Administration
in 2021. This will grow by several hundred million
more in 2022.
Why doesn’t the MTA add functioning restrooms
to the NYC Transit Capital Program and use federal
funds to pay for these improvements?
Larry Penner,
Great Neck
/NS.COM
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