J’Ouvert could be a recipe for bloodshed
Putting the power of food in the hands of communities
COURIER L 24 IFE, AUG. 16-22, 2019
OPINION
As human beings, food is
what we need to survive
and thrive. But we all
know that food is more than
just a necessity. It’s a connection
to our families, our culture
and to the Earth.
Unfortunately, in our city —
one of the richest in the world —
many people don’t have access
to adequate, nutritious food.
More than 1 million New
Yorkers are food insecure, and
there is inequitable access
to fresh and healthy food in
many neighborhoods throughout
the city, predominantly in
low-income communities and
communities of color.
That’s why I recently released
Growing Food Equity in
New York City, a detailed report
that outlines the City Council’s
agenda to tackle the challenges
we face in regard to food policy.
This report stems from our
core belief that access to adequate,
nutritious food is a human
right.
That means that we have a
moral obligation to build a society
where everyone has the
fundamental right to be free
from hunger and have access to
healthy food.
Food policy needs to be addressed
holistically if we’re going
to achieve that goal, which
is why the Council will introduce
legislation to empower
the Mayor’s Offi ce of Food
Policy. That offi ce is currently
too understaffed and underresourced
to appropriately coordinate
all of this City’s vast
food policy.
We also need to expand some
of our most successful food programs
that not only feed New
Yorkers, but also make sure
the food they get is fresh and
healthy.
One example is our Health
Bucks initiative, which provides
coupons to low-income
New Yorkers to purchase
fruits and vegetables at farmers’
markets. The program
benefi ts more than just its
participants.
Health Bucks encourages
participants to shop at farmers’
markets, which are an important
part of our local food
economy.
Stimulating that economy
— which also includes Community
Supported Agriculture
(CSA) programs and fresh food
boxes — is at the heart of what
we need to do to achieve our ambitious
food policy goals.
I’m also calling for the city
to fund a Community Food
Hub Incubator to develop and
support even more local food
businesses and farm-to-city
projects. The Council will also
consider legislation to create
an Offi ce of Urban Agriculture
that will help prioritize the ecological,
economic and health
benefi ts of urban agriculture in
our city, including community
gardens and urban farms.
Things like local food businesses,
CSAs, farmers’ markets,
and community gardens
are integral to our diverse communities,
and as city we must
do everything we can to help
make them a success.
This is smart food policy.
New Yorkers know best
what kind of food they need to
sustain themselves and their
families physically, emotionally,
and culturally. Our diversity
is our strength, and we
don’t need a top-down approach
to food equity.
Rather, we want a system
of food governance that grows
(pun intended) from the communities
themselves.
That’s at the heart of the City
Council’s food agenda – implementing
food policies that enrich
our diverse communities.
Food is power. And we want
that power in the hands of the
people.
Corey Johnson is the New
York City Council speaker
Unfortunately, more shootings,
injuries, and death
are virtually guaranteed
at the annual J’Ouvert festival
in Crown Heights on Sept. 2.
Some will accuse me of
fear-mongering, but I pledge
to publicly say in this column
next month that I was wrong
if all is peaceful. If I am right,
Mayor de Blasio and Brooklyn
District Attorney Eric Gonzalez
should similarly pledge to
admit their policies had a lot to
do with the violence and fi nally
reverse course on them.
J’Ouvert now begins at 6
a.m., prior to the beginning of
the West Indian Parade along
Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn.
The parade is an outstanding
celebration of Caribbean culture.
Let’s review the recent
history of J’Ouvert — which
translates daybreak in French.
In 2015, Carey Gabay, an aide
to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, was
killed during a shootout between
rival gangs.
The following year, Mayor
de Blasio assured us that the
festival would be “safer than
ever.” However, two people
were shot dead — 17 year-old
Tyreke Borel was struck in the
chest with a bullet as he innocently
sat on a bench and soon
died at Kings County Hospital,
and Tiarah Poyau, a promising
22 year-old St. John’s student
who was the daughter of a
Trinidad cop, was also killed.
Despite the presence of 3,000
police offi cers, the violence still
occurred because the Mayor
has handcuffed the police with
his policies for the sake of “police
community relations.” His
continued anti-cop rhetoric
has made it crystal clear that
he does not, and will not have
their backs in a crisis. Therefore,
not surprisingly, police
are hesitant to act.
Remember “the talk” he announced
that he had to have
with his son about being fearful
of our police shortly after
his fi rst election. If you forgot,
Mayor de Blasio just reminded
the nation of it a few weeks ago
on the Democratic Presidential
debate stage to prove his
progressive bona fi des in his
quixotic White House bid.
At the 2016 J’Ouvert, alcohol
was openly consumed and
gangs took over the streets
when they realized cops were
ordered to act as scarecrows.
Stop, question, and frisk –
fuggedaboutit!
Curtis Sliwa — founder of
the Guardian Angels, who was
there during the mayhem —
said gangs of 40-50 were told
by their generals to put their
“Flags Up,” which covered
their faces, a clear violation of
the law.
Specifi cally, New York Penal
law 240.35 prohibits groups
from “being masked…in a public
place with other persons so
masked or disguised.”
Arguments and fi ghting
to settle old disputes among
gangs broke out while cops
were told to stand down instead
of enforcing laws that
could have avoided tragedy.
Soon, shots soon rang out and
lives were lost.
Can you imagine police offi -
cers sitting on their hands like
this under Bloomberg or Giuliani?
Do you think cops would
have sheepishly walked away
when buckets of water were
dumped on them? This is the
sad reality of law enforcement
under Bill de Blasio and this
new progressive movement.
In 2017, one man was shot
and suffered serious injuries;
last year, three more were
wounded by gunfi re during
the festivities.
In addition to no longer fearing
searches by cops, Brooklyn
District Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s
“reforms” have also emboldened
some to carry guns.
His go-soft on crime policies,
including agreeing to lenient
plea agreements for those carrying,
were called out by the
NYPD this month.
During the July crime
briefi ng, Chief Terence Monahan,
the department’s highest
ranking offi cer, put the blame
squarely on Gonzalez for the
increase in shootings in northern
Brooklyn.
“Our police offi cers are
out there takings guns off the
streets… we are still seeing
pleas that result in little or no
jail time,” Monahan said.
Many DA’s have seemed to
forget that their job is to enforce
the law and protect lawabiding
New Yorkers — not act
as a second defense attorney
for criminals.
The effect of the de Blasio
and Gonzalez policies are being
felt. Shootings in northern
Brooklyn are on the rise.
In the 77th Precinct — which
covers Crown Heights where
J’Ouvert is held — shootings
are up a whopping 87.5 percent
this year compared to the same
period last year as of Aug. 3.
This is not good news for this
year’s J’Ouvert.
Gonzalez’s policy to put
many gun toting criminals
into “diversion programs”
rather than prison should
not surprise us. He told us in
March when he unveiled his
“Justice 2020” initiative that
“non-jail resolutions would be
sought at every juncture of a
case,” except “most often” in
murder and rape cases.
With the violent recent history
of J’Ouvert, police being
legitimately afraid to lift a fi nger,
the trending increase of
shootings in the area, and a
DA’s reluctance to fully prosecute
those carrying guns a recipe
for bloodshed looms.
Bob Capano has worked for
Brooklyn Republican and Democrat
elected offi cials.
THE RIGHT
VIEW
Bob Capano
Speaker Corey Johnson