A collage of New York City mayor candidates.
The race for City Hall
By POLITICO NEW YORK STAFF
05/04/2021 05:01 AM EDT
Updated
New York City’s June 22 Democratic primary is one of the most important mayoral contests in recent memory and is heating up every day. In a city that is roughly 7 to 1 Democrat, the primary could determine the next mayor, after almost eight years of a term-limited Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The crowded field includes more than two dozen hopefuls and based on early polls, fundraising and media attention, eight candidates appear viable in the first ever citywide ranked choice primary.
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In recent months, the city and state of New York have moved to decriminalize prostitution. State lawmakers repealed a law that made “loitering” to sell sex a crime. District attorneys in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens announced that while they would continue to prosecute pimps, sex traffickers and “johns” who pay for sex, they would be referring men and women involved in prostitution to social service agencies. The DAs dropped thousands of cases of unlicensed massage, prostitution and loitering dating back to the 1980s.
John Whittaker
Legislation introduced recently in the state Legislature would require local police officers to be licensed by the state.
The Police and Peace Officer Licensing Act (A.4517/S.6219) is sponsored by Sen. James Sanders Jr., D-South Ozone Park, and Assemblyman Daniel O ‘Donnell, D-New York City.
“The state of New York issues and monitors licenses for a wide variety of professions, ranging from educators to physicians to hairstylists and interior designers,” Sanders and O’Donnell wrote in their legislative justification. “If licensed professionals in these fields commit misconduct, their licenses can be suspended or revoked by a state board. However, no such licensing regime exists in New York for police and peace officers: in New York, almost all disciplinary power is left up to municipal police departments and agencies that directly employ police and peace officers, many of which have negotiated contracts that shield officers from discipline even when they
NYC mayoral candidate Maya Wiley launches coalition of Black men supporters nydailynews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nydailynews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.