City appears to turn corner on crime in July report
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
A year after a most violent summer in
New York City, the tide seems to have
finally turned against violent crime
— and street gangs.
The murder rate plunged nearly 50%, and
shootings fell by 35%, during the month of
July, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner
Dermot Shea reported at an Aug.
5 briefing. That comes on the strength of
hundreds of gun arrests and a number of
recent street gang takedowns as police and
prosecutors work together to take “the worst
of the worst off the streets,” as Shea put it.
“We had some real challenges but we
also saw some extraordinary successes
from the NYPD,” de Blasio said. “July is
one of the toughest months of the year in
the middle of summer. And yet the NYPD
rose to the challenge and fought back gun
violence.”
The NYPD reported 29 murders during
July 2021, down from 57 reported in July
2020. That number is even lower than the
34 homicides reported in July 2019 — a
decrease of 14.7%.
Additionally, the NYPD reported 158
shooting incidents last month, down from
the 243 shootings that occurred in July
2020. Still, the July 2021 figure is 79.5%
higher than the 88 shootings recorded in
pre-pandemic July 2019.
Police officers across the Five Boroughs
also made 383 gun arrests in July — more
than double the number reported yearover
year. So far in 2021, the NYPD has
made 44.5% more gun collars than it did
during the first seven months of 2020.
FILE PHOTO/DEAN MOSES
Along with crediting the NYPD for
its investigative efforts, de Blasio also
remarked that the reduced murder and
shooting rates reflected the success of the
Safe Summer NYC initiative launched in
May. Along with boosting police resources,
the program also provided greater community
and youth programs while also
supporting violence interrupter groups.
Since being enacted, de Blasio said,
murders are down 26%, shootings have
fallen by 10% and the number of shooting
victims has also decreased by 11%.
Another important part of the puzzle,
Shea noted, has been efforts between the
NYPD and prosecutors to crack down on
gang activity across the city. This week, the
NYPD and its partners in the Bronx and
Manhattan District Attorney’s office, as
well as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern
District of New York, announced two
major stings that led to dozens of arrests;
another gang crackdown in Queens was
set to be announced Thursday.
The commissioner said getting tough
with street gangs will ultimately result in
future crime reductions.
“These cases are piling up,” Shea said.
“The work is being put in by investigators
and we know it’s going to absolutely drive
down the violence in New York City.”
Overall crime in New York City was
even for the month of July, according to the
NYPD. Approximately 8,749 major crimes
(murder, rape, robbery, felony assault,
burglary, grand larceny, auto theft) were
reported for the month, up approximately
14 from the 8,735 such incidents in July
2020.
Trump-loving anti-vaxxers rally at City Hall
BY DEAN MOSES
An amalgamation of Trumpists
and anti-vaxxers descended upon
City Hall Park on Monday, Aug.
9, to protest the city’s vaccine mandate
with a demonstration they claimed was
about “medical freedom.”
Hundreds of screaming protesters
argued that the newest COVID-19 mandates,
requiring some employees to receive
the vaccine as well as gyms, restaurants,
and entertainment indoor facilities being
required to check for vaccine passports (or
cards) by Sept. 13 infringes on their rights.
On Aug. 3, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced
in a press conference a new
COVID-19 policy stating, “If you want
to participate in our society fully, you’ve
got to get vaccinated.” The city has been
pushing vaccinated residents to use the
NYC COVID Safe App or Excelsior Pass
application, or show their vaccination card,
as required proof for indoor venues due to
the uptick in COVID-19 cases.
But the protesters — many of whom
supported a president whose followers
launched a deadly attack on the U.S.
Capitol on Jan. 6 in protest of last year’s
election results — labeled these new requirements
as un-American, claiming that
Shouting match between vaccinated and anti-vaxxers.
the government was forcing the vaccine
upon them.
Many in the group brandished “Trump
2024” flags and wore shirts falsely claiming
that “Trump won” (he didn’t).
Chants, such as “We will not comply,”
echoed as one protester used a megaphone
to state, “You can use anything as a mask,
you can use toilet paper because it’s not
about science, it’s about compliance. They
want you on your knees and we reject that.”
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
Others carried signs that read “My
body, my choice” — a slogan normally used
among pro-choice individuals in support of
reproductive rights that has since been coopted
by those against COVID-19 mask,
business restriction and vaccine mandates
since the pandemic began.
At one point, the group even unfurled a
gigantic banner depicting de Blasio holding
the severed head of Lady Liberty, and then
began stomping on the mayor’s face in a
tantrum.
Not everyone, however, was sympathetic
to the protesters’ cause.
One man dressed in medical scrubs was
disgusted with the group’s disregard of the
life-saving vaccinations, calling those rallying
“Stupid.”
The individual was hounded by protesters,
at one point even getting pushed
around. The group overrode his attempts
at a debate by simply yelling “USA” —
although the man was, like them, an
American.
Reports from the Governor’s office
show that as of August approximately 59%
of New Yorkers are vaccinated, yet still
there has been an uptick in cases. According
to a study by John Hopkins University
about 39,000 people were hospitalized
by late July, and death rates are two times
higher in states that have largely unvaccinated
residents.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the
US Centers for Disease Control said in a
press briefing, stating, “This is becoming
a pandemic of the unvaccinated.”
Walensky reported that 97% of those
hospitalized from COVID-19 were unvaccinated
and the US Surgeon General Dr.
Vivek Murthy said 99.5% of those who
perished were unvaccinated.
12 August 12, 2021 Schneps Media