ACCEPT THIS!’
community meeting on gun violence
June’s mayoral primary election,
Hate crimes probe into anti-Semitic assault
COURIER LIFE, JULY 23-29, 2021 3
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
Gov. Andrew Cuomo directed the
state police to help NYPD hate crimes
detectives catch the suspects who attacked
a Jewish man on a Midwood
street early Friday morning.
The Flatbush Shomrim Safety Patrol
posted video on its Twitter account
of the violent anti-Semitic assault,
which occurred at about 5:24 am
on July 16 near the corner of New York
Avenue and Avenue K.
Two unidentifi ed perpetrators attacked
the victim as he headed to shul,
the safety patrol reported. They repeatedly
punched the victim and stole
some of his property, including his
tefi llin, small leather boxes which contain
verses from the Torah.
But the suspects apparently
dropped the tefi llin nearby, as it was
later recovered by volunteers, the patrol
reported. The incident occurred in
the NYPD’s 63rd Precinct.
The Flatbush Shomrim Safety
Patrol is offering a $1,000 reward
for information leading to the suspects’
arrests.
After learning of the attack through
reports, Cuomo announced on Saturday
that he’s directing the New York
State Police to assist the NYPD Hate
Crimes Task Force in catching the perpetrators.
“I am outraged to once again hear
of an anti-Semitic attack in our state.
To beat and rob a Jewish man on his
way to a synagogue is sickening beyond
compare. Hate has no place here
and we will not tolerate it,” the governor
said. “To the Jewish Community
of New York, I know this is exhausting.
No one should have to worry about being
attack for their religious beliefs,
ever. We stand with you and we will
not stop fi ghting until the plague that
is hate has been eradicated. Love will
win here.”
Area City Councilmember Farah
Louis similarly condemned the incident
in a statement.
“I want to be very clear that anti-Semitic
acts are absolutely unacceptable
and will not be tolerated in District 45
or New York City,” Louis said. “This
is an attack on the very foundation of
who we are as a community – a place
where all people should feel safe and
welcomed regardless of their faith or
race. We stand with the Jewish community
and we wish and pray for the
constituent’s speedy recovery.”
Getty Images
according to a NY1 poll
from May. A hefty 46 percent of
those surveyed chose “crime
or violence” as their main concern,
outpacing “affordable
housing” at 31 percent and the
pandemic at 30 percent.
Adams, a former police offi -
cer, ultimately prevailed in the
Democratic primary, largely
by focusing his campaign on
tackling gun violence.
The issue became so salient
around the country that President
Joe Biden convened a
meeting of local stakeholders,
including Adams, to discuss
ways that the federal government
can assist in stomping
out violent crime.
“We recognize that we have
to come together to fulfi ll the
fi rst responsibility of a democracy
and to keep each other
safe,” Biden said at the White
House meeting. “And that’s
what the American people
are looking for when it comes
to reducing violent crime and
gun violence.”
Wednesday’s shooting —
and the symbolism of the proximity
to Cuomo’s anti-gun-violence
meeting — underscored
for many the need to address
the issue head on, including
local Councilmember Farah
Louis, who called the issue an
“epidemic.”
“We cannot accept shootings
in our community as
the new norm. Gun violence
is an epidemic that requires
us to work collectively to end
it,” Louis said in a statement
Thursday. “Investments in
proven community violence
intervention programs are
needed, but we must also identify
ways to stop the fl ow of illegal
fi rearms used to commit
these crimes.”
Guns and bail reform
The debate over the increase
in crime often devolves
into a back-and-forth over a
2019 change to the New York
State bail laws, which took effect
in early 2020.
Those reforms, which were
pushed by progressive legislators,
including some in Brooklyn,
limited the ability of
judges to impose cash bail for
suspects of some crimes while
they await trial.
Activists estimated at the
time that it would reduce the
population of the state’s then-
7,822-person jail system by
around 40 percent, as people
who could theoretically be released
previously, if they were
able to stake the money for
bail, would now automatically
be let out while awaiting trial
without having to cough up
the funds.
Commissioner Dermot
Shea took to social media in
April to openly call for Albany
pols to rethink the bail
reform, seemingly blaming it
for the rise in crime.
“Since 2019 NYS prison
population is down 29%.
NYC jail population is down
an additional 28%. We have
all seen the consequences.
Judges must have the ability
to remand repeat/violent offenders.
Who is advocating
for the victims?” Shea said.
A report from the mayor’s
offi ce from earlier this year,
however, throws cold water
on the theory that bail reform
is a signifi cant contributor
to violent crime.
That study, which looked
at crime statistics between
mid-2017 and September of
2020, found that 75 percent
of people who were arrested
and charged after bail reform
was enacted were not
awaiting trial for a different
crime, which is just slightly
lower than the 81 percent
prior to the bail law being enacted.
Proponents of the bail reform
point out that violent
crimes — such as assault,
and all charges related to
someone’s death — which are
indicators that someone may
re-offend, are eligible for cash
bail. Only less serious crimes,
such as vandalism and drug
possession were affected by
the reforms, but perpetrators
of those acts are not as high
of a risk to commit violent
crimes while awaiting trial.
Nevertheless the bail reform
sparked a heated debate
between reformers and the
tough-on-crime community.
Politicians like Adams and
Cuomo have somewhat straddled
the fence on the issues,
supporting the concept of bail
reform while advocating for
some changes.
Both men, though, spoke
on Wednesday of the need to
address crime with a holistic
approach, including by investing
in education, mental
health resources, job training,
and more, which they say
would root out the systemic
causes of violence in the city.
“Those countless men
and women, everyday workers,
they want safe streets,
they want their children educated,
they want to stop hearing
gunshots instead of alarm
clocks, they want to make sure
they’re employed and can live
in the city,” Adams said.