MESSAGE
| DATE | 2020-11-02 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Re: [Hangout - NYLXS] Defunding the Police and NYC budget
|
As part of the budget deal, $92 million previously allocated for the
116th Precinct in 2017 was diverted to a new community center for young
people in Jamaica, Queens.
On 11/2/20 1:12 PM, Ruben Safir wrote:
> New York City Community Confronts Impact of NYPD Budget Cuts
> Emma Tucker
> 8-11 minutes
>
> Residents of a predominantly Black area of Queens had mixed feelings
> over the summer when New York City lawmakers eliminated funding for the
> long-awaited creation of a new police precinct and the construction of a
> precinct station house in their community.
>
> Mayor Bill de Blasio and the city council scrapped spending on the
> project as part of the budget they approved on June 30 following weeks
> of large-scale protests over the killing of George Floyd, a Black man,
> in police custody in Minneapolis. Black Lives Matter protesters had
> called for defunding the NYPD and other departments around the country,
> and investing in social services and economic mobility for Black
> communities.
>
> Defund the Police: What It Means and How It Could Work
>
> 0:00 / 5:00
>
> 3:53
>
> Defund the Police: What It Means and How It Could Work
>
> Defund the Police: What It Means and How It Could Work
> In the wake of George Floyd’s death, protesters across the country are
> calling on officials to defund the police. WSJ’s Shelby Holliday
> examines what the phrase means and how it might work. Photo: Ragan Clark
> / Associated Press
>
> Many residents in southeast Queens agreed with the calls to end police
> brutality, but some were torn that plans for a new precinct were once
> again placed in limbo. Since the late 1970s, longtime dwellers have been
> advocating for the precinct, which would have been designated the 116th.
> They saw the precinct and the station house as a community benefit that
> would have improved police-response times to 911 calls in the area,
> increased the quality of life and enhanced community relations by
> offering public space and a youth center.
>
> “There is no better way to bring the community together, build trust
> with the department and ensure that you are not only reimagining what
> policing looks like, but also what the space looks like within the
> community,” City Councilman Donovan Richards, a Queens Democrat, said of
> the precinct. Mr. Richards said he is still working to reinstate the
> funding.
>
> The 116th Precinct, referred to by some southeast Queens residents as
> the “40-Year Dream,” was envisioned by the local community as a model
> for future police precincts in New York City and across the country. Mr.
> de Blasio, a Democrat, announced the site of the new 116th Precinct
> station house in 2017.
>
> A rendering of the proposed 116th Precinct station in Rosedale, N.Y.
> Photo: Caitlin Ochs for The Wall Street Journal
>
> The new precinct would have covered the neighborhoods of Rosedale,
> Springfield Gardens, Brookville, Laurelton and the southern area of
> Cambria Heights, and would have absorbed over half of the 105th
> Precinct’s geographic area. The 105th is currently one of the largest
> precincts in the city in terms of geographic boundaries. Many residents
> in the 105th say that its size leads to slower police-response times to
> 911 calls.
>
> Some longtime residents said the new precinct is needed more than ever
> to help stem the rise in crime in Queens this year.
>
> Shootings and murders in New York City have risen sharply since the city
> began a phased reopening of its economy in June after months of lockdown
> restrictions to contain the spread of the new coronavirus. Overall major
> felony crime in the 105th Precinct is up nearly 12% for the year so far
> compared with the same period in 2019, NYPD figures show.
>
> Franck Joseph, a 30-year-old who is a member of local community groups,
> said he advocated for the precinct and helped secure resources for
> southeast Queens as a staffer for Mr. Richards from 2013 to 2016. The
> precinct should still be created, Mr. Joseph said, but there should be
> ample accountability and reimagining of what policing looks like in a
> predominantly Black community.
>
> Bess DeBetham, co-chair of the 116th Precinct Task Force, speaking with
> local activist Franck Joseph in Rosedale earlier in October.
> Photo: Caitlin Ochs for The Wall Street Journal
>
> “We need to ensure the resources and response times we’re receiving are
> equitable to other areas,” he said. “But we have to reconcile that with
> the trauma within the community due to the violence we have seen against
> Black bodies.”
>
> For many young residents in Queens, however, the effort to build the
> precinct is at odds with the movement to reform policing around the
> country. Deandra Simon, a 23-year-old lifelong resident of southeast
> Queens, said the city should instead invest in more advanced police body
> cameras, patrol cars and other equipment to better hold officers
> accountable.
>
> “People are being surveilled by police in southeast Queens, and yet we
> still don’t see quicker response times or feel like the police are there
> to protect us,” she said, referring to an NYPD sky watchtower in a
> section of southeastern Queens.
>
> Community activists walked through the neighborhood in Rosedale earlier
> in October.
> Photo: Caitlin Ochs for The Wall Street Journal
>
> The NYPD didn’t respond to a request for comment about Ms. Simon’s comments.
>
> The city budget approved in June trimmed nearly $1 billion in funding
> for the NYPD. The mayor said $500 million would be taken from the NYPD’s
> capital budget and reinvested into improving youth centers and public
> housing. Advocates for defunding the police and some members of the city
> council criticized the cuts, saying that the city needed to implement
> systemic change rather than shift funds.
>
> As part of the budget deal, $92 million previously allocated for the
> 116th Precinct in 2017 was diverted to a new community center for young
> people in Jamaica, Queens.
>
> Mayoral spokesman Mitchell Schwartz said the mayor’s office worked with
> the city council to pass a budget that “balanced public safety with
> real, substantive reforms.”
>
> “We’re looking forward to keeping the conversation going with advocates,
> elected officials, and community leaders across the five boroughs,” Mr.
> Schwartz said.
> SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
>
> Do you think funding should be reinstated for the creation of a new
> police precinct and a precinct station house in this Queens, N.Y.,
> community? Why or why not? Join the conversation below.
>
> An NYPD spokeswoman referred to a comment from the mayor over the summer
> that said one of the goals of the city this year was to reallocate
> resources for young people.
>
> A coalition of 20 north and southeast Queens civic associations and
> other community groups started an initiative after the budget cuts to
> lobby to get funding back into the precinct.
>
> “Having been in this struggle for decades, I just can’t give up,” said
> Bess DeBetham, co-chair of the 116th Precinct Task Force.
>
> Mr. Richards, who voted against the city budget, said the budget cuts
> didn’t go far enough in addressing internal issues within the police
> department. He said the 116th Precinct’s funding should have remained
> but the budget should have reined in police overtime and forced the
> department to address implicit bias among officers.
>
> “We should be able to have safe streets and a department that provides
> services to the community,” he said. “It shouldn’t be one or the other.”
>
> Write to Emma Tucker at emma.tucker-at-wsj.com
>
--
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town
that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
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DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
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Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and extermination camps,
but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013
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