14 The Courier sun • AUGUST 22, 2013 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com ▶politics ENDORSEMENTS KEEP RO LLING IN MAYOR Bill de Blasio received endorsements from The Nation magazine, the New York State Association of Letter Carriers, Associated Musicians of Greater New York Local 802, Doctors Council SEIU, Rev. Michael Waldrond, Jr., Assemblymember Joan Millman, Councilmember Vincent Gentile and Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz. The New York City League of Conservation Voters and Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg endorsed Christine Quinn. The Caribbean American Community endorsed Bill Thompson. COMPTROLLER Scott Stringer was endorsed by the New York Daily News, the New York Post and the New York Times. PUBLIC ADVOCATE Cathy Guerriero received endorsements from the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, the Uniformed Fire Officers Association Uniformed EMTs Paramedics, Fire Inspectors FDNY Local 2507, the Uniformed EMS Officers Union FDNY Local 3621, Rev. Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood and Local 372, which represents parent coordinators, crossing guards and other school aides. The New York League of Conservation Voters and Congressmember Yvette Clarke endorsed Letitia James. CITY COUNCIL The Small Business Coalition endorsed Rory Lancman for District 24 and Eric Ulrich for District 32. Former council candidate Kevin Kim endorsed his former rival Paul Vallone for District 19. Former Councilmember Julia Harrison endorsed Chrissy Voskerichian for District 19. BOROUGH PRESIDENT Councilmember Leroy Comrie, 1199 SEIU and the Planned Parenthood of New York City Political Committee endorsed Melinda Katz. The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association and MTA Bridge and Tunnel Officers Benevolent Association endorsed Peter Vallone, Jr. Photo Courtesy of Peter Vallone Jr.’s campaign Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr, joined Queens business owners to push the city’s “Adopt-A-Basket” initiative. VALLONE’S TRASH TALK BY MELISA CHAN [email protected] A little-known citywide trash initiative could clean up Queens streets if more of the borough knew about it, a local lawmaker said. The city’s volunteer “Adopt-A-Basket” program gives free garbage cans and bags to residents and store owners who agree to monitor the outdoor receptacles and change liners when the basket is three-quarters full. The Department of Sanitation initiative, which began in the early 1980s, aims to reduce litter caused by overflowing trash cans. But of the city’s 1,300 participants, fewer than 20 percent are in Queens, a sanitation spokesperson said. “What’s the point of a program if no one knows it exists and barely anyone is participating,” asked Councilmember and Borough President candidate Peter Vallone Jr. “I want to make sure Queens takes advantage of the program that exists and that we expand on that.” If elected to head the borough, Vallone said he would fund and install placards on adopted baskets that show the name of the participating business. The Department of Sanitation currently gives participants a certificate, but the councilmember said the award is usually hung indoors, out of sight. The more visible plaques would give due credit to adoptees and encourage participation “in what could be a very successful program,” Vallone said. “Sometimes, the proverbial carrot helps,” he said. Flushing business owner James Chen said waste from full cans on Prince Street often spills out onto the streets. The refuse, he said, finds its way under a tree outside his printing company daily. “We have to clean that every single day,” Chen said. “It’s horrible. We can’t do anything about it because there are not enough garbage cans around. People just dump whatever they want to.” New York City law requires property owners to keep their sidewalks clean. Fines for failure to sweep sidewalks doubled to $100 in 2003. The “Adopt-A-Basket” initiative has been pushed in the past by State Senator Marty Golden in Brooklyn and Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito in Manhattan. Those interested can call the city’s Citizen Service Center at 3-1-1. BY LIAM LA GUERE [email protected] Fresh Meadows resident Naji Grampus claims he was stopped by cops one night while walking home from playing basketball in a playground near P.S. 26 in the fall of 2010. It was chilly, so Grampus, then 21, was wearing a hoodie and his gloves were bundled in the pouch of the sweater. Grampus, who is black, was walking with two white friends, but the officers directed their questions only to him, he said. “Where are you going?” Grampus recalled one of three officers asking. “What’s in your pocket?” Grampus and his friends said they were headed home, but the officers got out their vehicle and allegedly proceeded to frisk him alone. “He frisked me, not them,” Grampus said. “I believe I was racially profiled, because I had a bulge in my pocket. But a bulge doesn’t look like a gun.” U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin agreed with Grampus and minority groups’ view when she ruled last week that the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy is being used unconstitutionally by overly targeting blacks and Hispanics. In 2012 police stopped nearly 533,000 people, but approximately 473,644 or 89 percent, were innocent, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union. Of those stopped 284,229 were black (55 percent), 165,140 were Latino (32 percent) and 50,366 were white (10 percent). “It feels like they are playing the law of averages,” Grampus said. “If I stop 100 minorities maybe one will have something.” Grampus was a junior in Baruch College then and is now a community liaison for Councilmember Mark Weprin, who has voiced concern over stop-and-frisk. Grampus doesn’t think the policy should be reformed, not discontinued, as does Scheindlin. As part of her decision, Scheindlin appointed a monitor over the NYPD and body cameras for police officers in some precincts in her decision. Mayor Michael Bloomberg was displeased with the ruling and the city filed to appeal the decision. Bloomberg instead referred to stats that show last year the city had the fewest shootings and murders since records began being kept in 1962. Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly then touted stop-andfrisk as a reason that selling illegal weapons in the city was more difficult after the pair announced “the largest seizure of illegal guns in city history” on Monday, August 19. Cops recovered 254 firearms and indicted 19 people. One of the men arrested was heard saying said he couldn’t bring the weapons to Brooklyn because of stop-and-frisk, according to police. This was rebuffed by various supporters of stop-and-frisk reformers. “We applaud the city’s record gun bust, but we are nonetheless outraged that the mayor is using it as a scare tactic to justify the unconstitutional stop-and-frisk police tactic,” said Comptroller John Liu, a mayoral candidate. “Stopping and frisking innocent New Yorkers never has been, never is, and never will be the answer.” Stop-and-frisk: One man’s story
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