FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 24, 2020 • 2020 YEAR IN REVIEW • THE QUEENS COURIER 21
2020 year in review
brutality looked like in Queens
istrators to address the BLM movement
and make improvements to their own
reported instances of racism. Th e school
responded with the creation of a Council
for Diversity and Inclusion.
Th e protests in Queens weren’t nearly
as violent as those that took place
in Manhattan and Brooklyn, with barely
any reported instances of looting —
an attempted looting at the Queens Mall
was stopped by police and a false alarm
in Corona caused local offi cials to regret
their approach.
As weeks of protest went on, a wave
of pro-police, or “Back the Blue” rallies,
emerged in several neighborhoods,
including in Middle Village, Woodside
and Bayside.
“Th e police are necessary and part of
being in a city that’s safe,” said a couple
marching at a “Blue Lives Matter” rally in
Woodside. “We feel the rhetoric and the
message has been lost.”
While non-violent demonstrations prevailed
in Queens, there were instances of
police force and tense encounters between
community members.
In Whitestone, protesters who hung
signs in support of the BLM movement
were met with racist and menacing attacks
from a 54-year-old Flushing resident, who
not only brandished a claw-like weapon,
but also allegedly tried to mow down
protesters. Th e man was later charged by
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Right before a large pro-police rally
at Bayside’s Crocheron Park began, rally
attendees clashed with a small group of
BLM demonstrators. Th e short, yet heated
encounter resulted in one BLM demonstrator
getting tackled by police and
arrested while a woman with the BLM
group got slapped across the face by an
older white man wearing an NYPD shirt.
Witnesses told QNS the unidentifi ed man
also spit at BLM protesters, but police
didn’t make any attempts to detain him.
Attempts to get the 111th Precinct to
respond to the woman’s complaints, however,
went unanswered.
Following the New York Police
Benevolent Association’s (PBA) endorsement
of former President Donald Trump,
Bayside’s BLM group staged a surprise
protest outside the home of PBA President
Pat Lynch. About four dozen demonstrators
were met with barricades blocking
Lynch’s home and other streets near it,
with a heavy police presence following
them from start to fi nish.
One of the last large-scale protests in
Queens took place in Maspeth, where
Photo courtesy of Maria Riley (@lifeofrileynyc)
several dozen demonstrators marched
through the mostly conservative neighborhood
to protest police unions and
QAnon. Th e protest ended aft er fl ags were
taken from private homes and burned on
the street — which many residents and
local electeds objected to.
A resounding message of the
monthslong protests was to defund the
police.
In order to see concrete results, activists
and elected offi cials called for at least
a $1 billion cut from the NYPD’s budget,
which has an overall budget of about $10
billion, as the city negotiated its budget
for the 2021 fi scal year. Many felt those
funds should be directed toward public
services that directly help communities
of color and are oft entimes underfunded
or the fi rst to be cut during a budget
crisis, like the one the pandemic brought
onto the city.
In anticipation of the fi nal budget, the
city and state passed some reforms: a ban
on chokeholds and the repeal of 50-A,
which stopped the public from uncovering
an offi cer’s disciplinary record.
While de Blasio said he’d cut $1 billion
from the NYPD’s budget, later comments
from City Council members and reports
noted that amount wasn’t actually cut.
Most Queens Council members voted in
favor of it, while the few who voted “no”
cited the NYPD’s cuts as either too much
or not enough.
“Th e people have demanded a real, $1
billion cut to the NYPD, but also a reimagining
of public safety in this city,” said
Long Island City Councilman Jimmy Van
Bramer, who voted “no” on the budget.
“Sadly, the most historic part of this budget
is how it fails to meet the moment.”
Th roughout the months of protests, de
Blasio announced task forces to address
the inequalities that persist in NYC and
followed in Washington D.C.’s footsteps
by painting a “Black Lives Matter” street
mural in big, bold yellow across some city
streets, including in Jamaica.
But the mayor appeared to have a hard
time fully condemning the police’s forceful
response that hundreds of protesters
experienced and even more watched
online from protest footage.
Attorney General Letitia James conducted
an investigation of the summer’s
protests, under the direction of Gov.
Andrew Cuomo, which concluded that
the NYPD needs more reform. A report
by the New York City Department of
Investigation, which de Blasio asked for,
found the NYPD did use excessive force
during the summer protests, affi rming the
accounts by many activists and protestors
across the city. In a video statement, de
Blasio agreed with the results.
A culmination of circumstances added
to the historic civil unrest that took place
in cities across the U.S. and the world,
from a deadly virus to record unemployment
rates — but it was the continuous
killing of innocent Black individuals by
those meant to protect the public that
forced the country to once again face the
systemic racism that makes up the fabric
of its history and present day.
And while the protests slowly diminished
in the winter months, the conversations
continue to challenge policy makers,
artists, educators and many more to
eff ectively address inequality everywhere
it exists.
Photo by Dean Moses Photo by Dean Moses
/WWW.QNS.COM
