Rally in Garment District urges city to
protect homeless individuals in shelters
BY DEAN MOSES
A City Council candidate rallied
with homeless individuals in the
Garment District seeking to call
further attention to the rise in homelessness
and defend those living in shelters
from eviction.
Across the street from Hotel Central,
located at 341 West 36th St., Marni
Halasa brandished cardboard signs reading
“Homelessness is not a crime,” “We all
need a home,” and “Social safety net, not
gentrifi cation” on Dec. 8. Soon the City
Council hopeful was joined by homeless
individuals currently residing in the makeshift
shelter. Together they protested the
efforts being made to remove those currently
calling unused hotels home.
“They all know each other and take
care of each other, so to displace them
and throw them to another shelter in Wall
Street continues a cycle of abuse. What
Gale Brewer and Corey Johnson really
should do is that they need to fi nd them
permanent homes. The easiest way is to
take an abandoned hotel and repurpose it
for single room occupancies,” Halasa told
Marni Halasa and shelter residents rally to prevent eviction.
amNewYork Metro.
Protesters stood on the roadway between
parked cars, where they fl ourished signs
at passing vehicles in an attempt to raise
awareness for their cause.
Michael Shade Witherspoon, a shelter
resident shared a block of bread with a
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
fellow Hotel Central occupant, stating:
“This is what they give us for working
and helping to clean. But we appreciate
whatever we get.”
Throughout the rally, Witherspoon reiterated
that he is still just like everybody
else, he just no longer has a home.
“I just lost my apartment, I didn’t lose my
mind. All we are looking for is a little bit of
love, how much does that cost? You have
to be there in that man’s place to see what
he goes through, what she goes through.
This is where the shelter comes in — help!”
Witherspoon said.
The Garment District and nearby Hell’s
Kitchen areas have seen numerous rallies
in recent months, with residents claiming
they now feel unsafe in their neighborhood,
citing an increase in crime and blatant drug
use, which they attributed to their homeless
neighbors.
Even stores, such as the Dunkin Donuts
at 316 West 34th street have taken to locking
their refrigerator to prevent individuals
from stealing bottles of soda, water, and
juice.
Halasa — who is vying for the District
3 City Council seat in June 2021 held by
term-limited City Council Speaker Corey
Johnson — implored the political leaders
not to displace homeless individuals in
shelters, but instead create permanent
homes with in-house supportive services
to aid with mental health issues.
Gun violence continues to rampage across NYC
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
Entering the fi nal month of 2020,
gun violence continues to rampage
across New York City, with the
NYPD reporting Friday yet another dramatic
increase in shootings citywide during
November.
Reported shootings increased by 112.5%
year-over-year, with 115 shootings last
month, compared to the 51 incidents that
occurred in November 2019. That contributed
to a near doubling of the shooting rate
in New York through the fi rst 11 months
of 2020.
The murder rate also continues to
increase; 28 people were slain in New
York during November, fi ve more than
the November 2019 total. As of Nov. 30,
the NYPD reported, New York City has
seen 422 homicides, a 38.4% increase
from the 305 recorded in 2019 — and the
highest total since 2012, when 412 murders
occurred.
The city’s on pace to have the highest
homicide rate in nearly a decade, though
that number will likely remain below 500;
New York hasn’t seen more than 500 murders
since 2011 (515).
Through Nov. 30, the NYPD tallied
Police investigate a shooting on Nov. 20, 2020. FILE PHOTO
1,412 shootings, a 95.8% increase from
the 721 such incidents that occurred over
the same period of time a year earlier.
Shootings rose in November 2020 even
as the NYPD doubled down on its enforcement
efforts and arrested more individuals
for gun-related offenses. Police reported
484 gun arrests in November, a 112.3%
increase year-over-year, and total gun arrests
for 2020 are up 22.2%.
Even so, November brought some hope
that the city might be turning a corner;
it was the third straight month in which
shootings substantially decreased.
The 115 shootings during November
were down from the 137 shootings that
occurred in October, and from the 152
incidents that occurred in September.
The November total is more than half of
the monthly fi gures during a particularly
violent summer in New York; July had the
peak number of shootings with 244, with
August having just two fewer incidents
(242).
Police offi cials said the focus in combating
gun violence has been on building
strong, “precision-driven” cases against
gun criminals to ensure not only their arrest,
but also their conviction.
During their investigations, the NYPD
discovered what they called an “emerging
trend”: 40% of those accused of a shooting
have a prior arrest for a gun possession
charge, while 21% of the shooting victims
have a prior gun arrest record.
“Whatever the challenge, our NYPD
offi cers have shown innovation and determination
to get the job done this year,” said
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea. “Our
work to reimagine the kind of policing New
Yorkers deserve is always evolving, in line
with our agency’s best traditions to refl ect
the needs of everyone in our city.”
As for overall crime, the seven major
felonies (murder, rape, robbery, burglary,
assault, grand larceny, auto theft) held relatively
fl at in November. There were 8,160
such felonies reported in November 2020,
up 0.6% from the 8,120 felonies reported
at the same time last year.
4 December 10, 2020 Schneps Media