Most Democrats still
don’t get it. If criminals
know there are no real
consequences for their actions,
they will be more emboldened,
and more innocent New Yorkers
will suffer.
Just last week, several
mom and pop businesses on
Third Avenue in Councilman
Justin Brannan’s Bay Ridge
district were burglarized. With
their loss of revenue from the
pandemic, these store owners
have enough to worry about
without having to deal with
thieves.
Rather than calling for a
tougher response to criminals
taking advantage of the pandemic
to cause more havoc,
Brannan’s response was “I’ve
asked the 68th Precinct to step
up patrols throughout all of our
commercial corridors, I’ve also
asked City Hall to lend us more
cops.”
Brannan and his progressive
brethren, including Mayor
Bill de Blasio, fail to understand
that if criminals don’t
12 COURIER LIFE, MAY 1-7, 2020
THE RIGHT
VIEW
Bob Capano
fear getting arrested because
they know that they will be released
soon after being brought
through the precinct doors, no
amount of added police presence
matters.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot
Shea recently highlighted
this point when he said, “With
the existing law, what’s happening
is the individuals are
being released immediately
and that’s something that ultimately
in the end will have
to be fi xed.” In short, in a costbenefi
t analysis of whether to
commit their bad deeds, it is
well worth the risk for criminals
today. First, one has to get
caught. Then, even if they are,
the revolving door will have
them back on the streets.
Obviously, this is a major
reason why commercial burglaries,
like the ones that just
happened in Brannan’s community,
has skyrocketed 122
percent compared to last year.
On top of the bail reform
law that had already tipped the
scale of justice in favor of criminals,
de Blasio has pushed forward
with the progressive utopia
of having no one in prison.
He has used the pandemic as
an excuse to empty our jails
and following his lead, those
arrested are just being let go.
Brannan tweeted on April
8, “Last I checked, New York no
longer has the death penalty.
That means no one should die
in our prisons and jails.” Here
is a radical thought: If you don’t
want to be subject to the possibility
of catching the virus behind
bars, don’t commit a crime
against innocent New Yorkers.
Also, there is plenty of room
to socially distance between
prisoners and create more medical
space. Rikers Island used to
have a population of over 20,000.
Recently, it has been between
4,000 to 5,000. Rather than creating
a public safety crisis in
addition to a public health one
by just letting crime go unpunished,
City Hall should use the
vast amount of free space wisely
in response to the virus..
Not surprisingly, ex-cons
have contributed to the spike
in crime with their newfound
freedom. Serial burglar Victor
Castillo, 32, was let go March
24 because of the mayor’s concern
for inmates being locked
up during this COVID-19 pandemic.
Castillo then, showing
his appreciation, committed
three more burglaries of businesses.
Unbelievably, he was
released all three times and
remains out today. This is just
one of many examples of someone
released by the mayor’s illadvised
policy only to quickly
commit more crimes.
Even more violent criminals
are being let off the hook.
Two Bronx gang members were
cut loose after being charged
with attempted gang assault,
assault, and possession of a
loaded gun. Why? For fear they
met get the coronavirus in jail.
Again, there are plenty of other
examples.
Rather than calling for
more police patrols as if it is a
panacea, Brannan would better
serve his constituents and our
city by demanding a halt to the
blanket release of criminals.
Bob Capano has worked for
Brooklyn Republican and Democrat
elected offi cials, and has
been an adjunct political science
professor for over 15 years.
Follow him on twitter @bobcapano.
OPINION
Pandemic or not, criminals
must face consequences
Getting by with a little help from your friends
Up until this point, all of
my columns have been
complain-y and depressing,
offering few positive solutions.
It should be clear by now
that our governments are failing
us. They have been failing
us for a long time. My column
two weeks ago referred to the
notion that Mitch McConnell
will keep screwing with the
rest of the country, and that
was before he started trying
to literally bankrupt the Blue
states.
Donald Trump and, to a far
lesser but still galling extent,
Mayor Bill de Blasio are both
walking, motorcading, speechifying
advertisements of their
inadequacy. Governor Andrew
Cuomo has received accolades
so far, but time will reveal that
he did not do all he could do —
right now, it’s easy to think of
three or four mistakes he and
the state are making.
But just as clear — from history
at least — as our government
failure is that groups of
people working together are
capable of great things. So today
I am going to tell you about
two small groups you should be
forming. I refer to them as affi
nity groups, after the Spanish
anarchist organizing model.
The fi rst group you should
form is with your friends and
some of their friends. This
group is for creating and funding
a news library, and I think
it should have about ten households
in it. Good journalism is
essential for making good decisions,
and increasingly good
journalism costs money from
the consumer. This is as it has
been for the entire era of the
printing press, excepting the
last hundred years. The group
should share passwords or ideally
use a common login to
systematically subscribe to
news. A lot of news. The richer
or more voracious members
should pay more. Ideally most
of the group will live in the
same city and state, but it is not
necessary that they all do.
I believe the news reading
group should subscribe to the
four major newspapers of the
country, at least a half-dozen
magazines, and three to six local
news sources. The local
news outlets should probably
receive double subscriptions
from the group.
The second group is composed
of people who live very
near you, and is for mutual aid.
Ultimately, you are trying to
create a group where you are
comfortable talking about each
other’s food, medical, and fi -
nancial needs and helping each
other. It is much more important
to pick people who live near
you than your close friends.
Besides propinquity, the
other thing you should be selecting
for in the mutual aid
group is diversity: ages and
incomes, but ideally also race
and ethnicity, class background
and educational level.
Diverse groups are stronger;
you are looking for about fi fteen
active members but can
start with three or four; you
don’t have to talk politics with
everyone.
How will you make it
through this cataclysm? With
your friends and neighbors, of
course.
Nick Rizzo is a Democratic
District Leader representing
the 50th Assembly District and
a political consultant who lives
in Greenpoint. Follow him on
Twitter @NickRizzo.
WORDS OF
RIZZDOM
Nick Rizzo
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