All progressive eyes are on Maya Wiley. After the dramatic implosions of the Scott Stringer and Dianne Morales campaigns, Wiley stands as the last great hope of left-leaning New Yorkers seeking to avoid electing as mayor of New York City a former Republican and cop, a confused tech bro whose platform includes more police and no NYPD budget cuts, or a proudly moderate former de Blasio appointee. Andrew Yang, Eric Adams and Kathryn Garcia, the other top contenders, oppose even the lowest-hanging fruit of NYPD reform: taking final authority to fire bad cops away from the police commissioner and giving it to an agency specifically tasked with police oversight. Their election would be a disaster for those who have marched this last year for the memory of George Floyd and the countless other victims of police violence.
Councilwoman Inez Barron Nayaba Arinde photo
Small wins, like small axes can lead to big changes. The effort to replace the standard Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) with the Elected Civilian Review Board (ECRB), maybe such an effort.
East New York Councilwoman Inez Barron is asking her City Hall colleagues to pass her Community Police Oversight With Elected Review (POWER) Act.
While, the City ruminates over the debated City Council and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s New York City Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Plan, activists say that despite prohibiting qualified immunity as a defense against victims of police misconduct––the measures do not go far enough.
How Candidates for East New York’s 42nd Council District Would Re-Think Policing and Safety
Amidst the well-documented increase in gun violence across New York City last year, one area stood out: the NYPD’s 75th Precinct, which includes the neighborhoods of East New York and Cypress Hills, had both the most shooting incidents and the highest number of police misconduct complaints of anywhere in the city.
The precinct had 102 shootings last year, up from 51 the year before. At the same time, the 75th led the city in complaints to the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), and in recent years was the subject of at least 90 lawsuits. Worse, officers with substantiated complaints often received promotions and raises instead of punishment.
The man who sat next to him didn t even bat an eye. Photo credit: Boing Boing
The World Health Organization names the virus COVID-19 - short for coronavirus disease 2019 - on February 11. By then over 43,000 people had been infected worldwide, and more than 1000 dead from the illness.
Residents in low-lying areas of Gore, Wyndham, and Mataura in Southland had to be evacuated as flooding ravaged the area. Gore pictured from above. Photo credit: Facebook / Hamish Walker
US President Donald Trump s impeachment drew demonstrations across the country, but he was ultimately acquitted in his US Senate impeachment trial. U.S. President Donald Trump holds a copy of The Washington Post as he speaks in the East Room of the White House one day after the U.S. Senate acquitted on two articles of impeachment, ion February 6, 2020 in Washington, DC. After five months of congressional hearings and investigations about Pres