NYPD top cop hosts forum to help ‘find
balance’ between cops and community
BY DEAN MOSES
For the last several weeks, NYPD
Commissioner Dermot Shea has
been engaging in a series of dialogues
with concerned community members regarding
their opinions on the state of the
city’s police force. The latest occurred on
Feb. 11 at Pace University, and broadcast
on Facebook Live, themed “Trust and
cycles of entanglement.”
Since the Black Lives Matter movement
helped shine a spotlight on the racial
inequality some face when dealing with
police offi cers all over the country, the
relationship between law enforcement and
members of the public has been a hot button
topic of protests, town hall meetings,
and virtual seminars.
During Thursday’s event, Shea joined
Christian Matthew, the head youth leader
from Gun-style Life Up, a program that
aims to keep youth off the streets; Chief
of Community Affairs Jeffrey B. Maddrey;
Jeremiah, a founder of Crew Count NYC,
a nonprofi t focused on social justice; and
Kenny Carter founder of Fathers Alive in
the Hood (FAITH), a nonprofi t organization
that strives to uplift the entire New
York community.
Over the course of this unscripted
Thursday evening conservation, Shea
served primarily as both a moderator and
a sympathetic ear as a variety of topics were
raised, everything from gun violence and
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea hosted a discussion on trust and cycles of entanglement via Facebook Live.
mental health to the way in which offi cers
conduct themselves within Black and
Brown neighborhoods, especially during
times of grief and strife.
Candlelight vigils soon became a strong
talking point. The public displays of sorrow
after a person’s death are a method for the
district to mourn said passing — yet some
feel a large police presence at these gatherings
disrupts this process.
“When we talk about trauma and healing
and things like that, how many vigils
do we go through of people lighting candles
and there are 100 police there… 200 police
there. How can one mourn in peace if the
police are there dictating how you are
supposed to mourn or what’s okay when
you are mourning or what’s not okay?”
Jeremiah said.
Maddrey weighed in on this and while
agreeing that there is room for improvements
in their service, he also attempted
to affi rm that offi cer presence at vigils is
intended to protect citizens in mourning,
not disrupt them.
“We had a vigil two years ago out in
one of the communities I was in charge
of in Brooklyn North and it was a very
tense situation. Someone had got killed
out there, someone who was highly respected,
but we were also very fearful that
retaliation was going to come. So, you
have to think about it from my perspective,”
Maddrey said. “We were worried
about a vigil where we think there is going
to be retaliation, but I am also aware
that this is a custom in a community, a
black community where you come out and
SCREENSHOT COURTESY OF NYPD
mourn your brother, your sister and you
light candles. It was a diffi cult time being
out there trying to address that vigil. I
took heat from the community, I took
heat from my bosses, but I did the best
I could.”
Chief Maddrey and Jeremiah went back
and forth throughout the hour-long conversion,
at times becoming rather heated,
neither one seeming able to fi nd equal
footing on subjects constantly returning
to police presence.
While Jeremiah argued that offi cers only
intensify the issue by merely patrolling the
areas, Maddrey affi rmed that meeting the
public and forming bonds are the way
forward.
Shea took note of both points stating,
“Everything needs to be balanced.”
Kallos looks to mandate public city job postings
BY NEW YORK COUNTY POLITICS
Have you ever wanted to work in city
government? If so, Councilmember
Ben Kallos has some good
news; he has introduced a bill to make it
far easier for you to fi nd opportunities.
Kallos introduced legislation last week
that would require the city government to
notify the public about any new job position
or vacancy. The job posting would have
to stay up for at least 14 days before the
agency started interviewing candidates.
Section 2604(b) (3) of the New York
City Charter bans City employees from
leveraging their position for personal gain
or infl uencing the hiring of close relatives
or peers. However, some City agencies –
particularly the New York Board of Elections
(BOE)- have circumvented this law
by keeping new opportunities hidden from
the public, ensuring that their friends and
relatives will be the fi rst to apply.
PROVIDED BY JOSH J. JAMIESON City Councilman Ben Kallos.
A New York Times article from last October
highlighted just how rampant cronyism
and nepotism are within the BOE. It
pointed out, among other things, that the
administrative manager is the wife of a
councilmember, and the offi cial overseeing
voter registration in the City is the mother
of a former representative.
The purpose of the bill, Kallos said, is
to discourage nepotism and ensure that the
City government is an equal opportunity
employer. The text of the bill also states
that it seeks to provide equal employment
opportunities to minority and women
candidates.
“We can’t be a city that makes it easy
for a Mayor to hire their wife, for a Commissioner
to score their nephew a plum
position, or a developer to ask a favor to get
a job for a daughter or friend” said Kallos.
“Publicly posting every job in government
will add the necessary transparency to
make it easier to identify patronage and
nepotism.”
The law, once passed, would take effect
immediately.
This article fi rst appeared on our sister
publication, New York County Politics,
newyorkcountypolitics.com.
Schneps Media February 18, 2021 3
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