We must fi ght crime and hold NYPD accountable
COURIER L 50 IFE, JUNE 18-24, 2021
EDITORIAL
OP-ED
When early voting polling
places across New
York City opened on
Oct. 24, 2020 for the fi rst voters
in the presidential election,
they saw a massive turnout
— more than 93,000 people
across the fi ve boroughs on
the fi rst day.
But on June 12, 2021, the
fi rst day of early voting in the
all-important Democratic primary
for mayor, just 16,867
people showed up to vote —
still a good number for a beautiful
Saturday in June, but
just 17% of the turnout seen
on Oct. 24, 2020.
It’s a bad sign that the voter
interest in this election — focused
primarily on city government
— is nothing close to
last year’s heated presidential
contest.
We’ve said it before, and
it bears repeating: The local
elections matter, too — and,
in many respects, the people
elected to represent us at City
Hall and Gracie Mansion have
a far greater impact on our everyday
lives than those working
in Albany or Washington,
DC.
We’re about to select a new
mayor to lead the city out of
the worst health crisis in a
century which devastated our
economy.
The mayor, among other
responsibilities, oversees the
NYPD and the public school
system — and will choose a
police commissioner and a
schools chancellor refl ecting
their priorities and reshaping
how our streets are protected,
and our children are
educated.
All but a handful of City
Council seats are up for grabs
in this election. They will
elect a new speaker who will
hold great infl uence in city
government, working with
the mayor to shape budgets
and enact new policy.
They will also be tasked
with handling land use issues
and passing new regulations
which will impact every New
Yorker almost on a block-byblock
level.
And in this city where registered
Democrats outnumber
registered Republicans by
more than a 3-1 margin, the
winners of the June 22 primaries
are almost certain to win
their seats in the November
general election.
If you were passionate
about voting last November
and were willing to stand in
line to cast your ballot, you
ought to do the same in the
week ahead — because this
primary matters just as much
to the life of our city.
To the victors belong the
spoils — but to the apathetic
non-voters belong the silent
shame from refusing to make
their voices heard when they
had the chance.
An unpromising start
BY ROBERT CORNEGY
A little more than a year ago,
the world watched in horror as a
Minneapolis police offi cer murdered
George Floyd in broad
daylight. It was an unspeakable
outrage that sparked the greatest
protest movement the nation
has seen in years. Millions of
Americans spoke out, demanding
police reform, accountability,
and racial and social justice.
Offi cial statistics from last
month showed that overall
crime increased 22 percent in
May 2021 compared to the same
period last year — including a
73 percent increase in shootings,
and a 98 percent increase
in hate crimes. The heartbreaking
shooting of 10-yearold
Justin Wallace in his own
home fueled new fears about an
alarming rise in gun violence
and violence over the past several
months in New York City
and across the country. Crime
and police reform: two urgently
important issues that
must be addressed comprehensively,
and immediately.
Yet, our political discourse
too often makes it diffi cult to
fi nd common sense solutions
to bring us together and move
forward. Some social justice
advocates strenuously call for
outright abolition of the police,
while opponents to reform
mislabel protestors as anti-police
to block reforming and reimagining
law enforcement.
Both approaches are fl awed.
The truth is this: we must
increase police accountability,
address police culture,
and achieve more criminal
justice reform — all while protecting
our communities from
violent crime and stopping the
scourge of gun violence.
These three priorities are
not in tension, but rather they
support each other. These priorities
are important to create
safe and secure neighborhoods,
while ending the legacy
of criminalizing communities.
We must invest more resources
into community programs,
culture-building initiatives,
and social services.
But we must also work in partnership
with the police to deter
crime and swiftly bring to
justice those who commit violence
in our neighborhoods.
I’ve dedicated my public
service career to achieving
this change. In the City Council
I sponsored the Eric Garner
Anti-Chokehold Act, the original
bill to make police chokeholds
illegal. I also fought to
repeal what’s called ‘qualifi ed
immunity,’ so cops who use excessive
force are held accountable.
In addition, I authored
the Kalief Browder Bill, which
provides necessary counseling
and social services for Rikers
Island detainees, so no-one
is left behind like Kalief was.
During the current legislative
session, I fully supported
the Police Reform Slate: a group
of bills that includes a Mental
Health Emergency Response
Unit, removing police from unnecessary
interactions while
supporting the important work
of police protecting all citizens. I
fully support increased funding
for social worker response units
and similar programs to remove
cops from non-violent outreach.
But when a 10-year old child
is shot in his own home by someone
who is unafraid to brazenly
fi re a gun on a New York City
street, we know that calls to defund
or abolish the police are
not serious public safety proposals.
The answer to incidents
of bad policing is not no policing
— it’s good and better policing.
We can achieve good and
better policing by continuing
and expanding the current reform
agenda. And we can do it
by treating violence as a public
health issue.
My vision is to use the convening
powers of the Brooklyn
Borough President’s offi ce to
bring together community leaders,
activists, police and public
safety offi cials, social workers,
mental health professionals,
and neighborhood representatives
to create holistic strategies
to the issues we are facing:
rising gun violence, domestic
violence, and hate crimes.
And we will address the
culture of policing. It is time
the NYPD changes with the
communities it serves. Offi
cers should reside in the
neighborhoods they work in
to increase the personal stake
of cops in their communities,
and so that interaction with
their neighbors is proactive
and positive. Criminals, not
law abiding citizens, should
fear our Finest. Ongoing professional
development and
community partnerships will
help to ensure the police are
seen as partners, not enemies.
We can and must deliver
public safety, and reduce violent
crime — especially gun
violence. And we can do that
while strengthening mutual
trust and respect between police
and communities, and
achieving social and racial
justice reform. It will take
vision, leadership and action
to get it done — and it’s the
agenda I’ll fi ght for right out of
the gate as your Brooklyn BP.
Robert Cornegy represents
Bedford-Stuyvesant and northern
Crown Heights in the City
Council, and is running for
Brooklyn borough president.
REUTERS/Lucas Jackson