The Briefly for June 2, 2020 – The "Repeal Civil Rights Law Section 50-a" Edition
Today - Low: 63˚ High: 71˚
Rain overnight.
Over the weekend, an NYPD officer pulled his gun out and pointed it at a crowd of protestors and it was caught on video. The NYPD is conducting an internal review, but the mayor took no time to call for this cop's gun and badge. (Kevin Duggan for amNewYork Metro) The NYPD's union has spent millions of dollars protecting Civil Rights Law section 50-a, which prohibits the city from releasing findings of misbehavior of NYPD cops, and they are getting ready to dig into their pockets to fight reform, which has the support of the governor and mayor. (Greg B. Smith for The City) On the state senate's website, you can sign your support for the repeal of 50-a. The cries to defund the NYPD are getting louder and they're starting to come from elected officials. (Gersh Kuntzman for Streetsblog) It took public shaming from AOC to Corey Johnson to literally everyone who saw the footage, but the mayor is ready to admit that the NYPD driving an SUV into a crowd of people is "dangerous and unacceptable" and doesn't think he "expressed it as well as I should have." (Elizabeth Kim for Gothamist) When Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux designed Union Square, they specifically designed a portion of the park for public gatherings and protests. (Michelle Young for Untapped New York)
"We have to call out everyone who says anything that is racist, on any level. Don’t be scared of telling Cuomo that he’s speaking racist language. If you sit in these city agency and Corporate meetings as a black person but afraid to call racism out then YOU are part of the problem. Stop being scared. Be strong for your children and grandchildren."
- Vernon Jones / CEO of JIG Media for East New York News, The NYPD Slave Catching Tactics Give Reason to Create a New Way To Hold Police Accountable for Their Violations Against Black New Yorkers
At 11:00 last night, the first night of NYC's curfew, I found myself on my way home from the people gathering outside Brooklyn's 77th precinct, realizing I could have gotten there quicker had I jumped on a Revel or Citi Bike but kept walking anyway. I was wrong because both services shut down at 11 pm with the curfew. (Gersh Kuntzman for Streetsblog) “It’s a mafia mentality. It’s a ‘If you speak out against us, you’re not with us’ kind of deal. If the writing on the wall is ‘let’s go arrest people’ and the people happen to be black, [then you have to do it or] you’re not with us. It’s a shit system.” An interview with a Brooklyn cop. (Zainab Iqbal for BKLYNER) Two Brooklynites and one upstate New Yorker were arraigned in federal court for allegedly throwing Molotov cocktails at police cars in two separate incidents during protests against police brutality on May 30. (Ben Verde for amNewYork Metro) Manhattan state Senator Brad Hoylman called upon the city’s five district attorneys Monday not to prosecute people arrested for disorderly conduct or unlawful assembly during protests, charging that “protesting injustice is not a crime.” (Robert Pozarycki for amNewYork Metro)
"We can no longer tolerate the police officers who do not uphold the rule of law but instead engage in murder, assault and racial profiling, and then protect each other."
- Francis Greenburger and Cheryl Roberts for amNew York Metro, Is there any justice left in America?
How did you learn about the arrest of the mayor's daughter? The same way the mayor did, he read about it in the news. How did the information about the mayor's daughter get to the news? The union that represents the NYPD's sergeants tweeted out personal information about Chiara de Blasio. They were temporarily suspended from Twitter for the privacy breach. (Dana Rubenstein and Jeffrey C. Mays for NY Times) "Behind the crowd, a four-year-old black boy tried to teach his baby brother how to clap hands. He held his hands and moved them towards as the crowd loudly clapped and shouted: “I can’t breathe.” " (Ali Tufan Koc for Bedford + Bowery)
"I am tired. Tired of how routine violence against African Americans at the hands of white people has been and continues to be. Angry as a journalist that this has happened so often that we all know the angles that must be covered, the questions to be asked, the stories to be written. Angrier still that as an African American journalist, I must explain, again and again, how dehumanizing this all is."
- Amanda Barrett for Brooklyn Eagle, American Diary: To be Black and a journalist at this moment
Five things to know if you’re going out to protest in New York City. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out) Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Bronx Councilmember Ritchie Torres are demanding an independent investigation into the NYPD’s actions during a weekend of protests, challenging Mayor de Blasio's plan to direct the Corporation Counsel and Department of Investigations to investigate. They want an investigation that is not done by any office controlled by the mayor. (Matt Tracy for Gay City News) 10 riots in the city's history. (Noah Sheidlower for Untapped New York) This will be the only mention of damage caused in Soho during protests. Don't mix the message of protestors with the damage of looters. (Daniel Maurer for Bedford + Bowery) note: I'm not saying that Bedford + Bowery is doing this, they do a good job of pointing out that the damage was caused by people separate from the George Floyd protests. Adorable: To close out today, here are some photos of a trash panda and her babies of Carroll Park, who have taken up residence ever since the park has been closed to people. (Katia Kelly for Pardon Me For Asking, photos by Gary Dolan)