In the Media

When New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton announced his retirement Tuesday, a bald 58-year-old Brooklyn native Mayor Bill de Blasio likes to call "Jimmy" was next in line. As chief of the department, James O'Neill has long been a low-key presence at NYPD conferences, but he'll step into a more political role next month.

After a rocky tenure in which he brought down crime, but also dealt with tension between police and people of color, New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton is leaving his job.

Bratton, whose departure was announced Tuesday, will leave next month to become a risk and security adviser at Teneo, a consulting firm. James O’Neill, the department’s top chief, will replace him as commissioner.

Jews must support the Black Lives Matter movement to fight for the rights of people of color in their own religion, said dozens of Jewish activists who rallied for police reform Downtown on July 28.

“Black Lives Matter is a Jewish issue because there are black Jews,” said April Baskin, vice president of the Union for Reform Judaism congregation, who came all the way from D.C. for the event. “The freedom and safety of black people is tied to our Jewish values for justice and safety for everyone. Our country collectively has not been vocal enough.”

On Saturday, Assembly Member Michael Blake, at an event in his district, was forcibly restrained by a NYPD officer while trying to gain information about an incident that was occurring. He was released after a senior officer recognized him as an elected official.

The incident has many remembering a situation that took place in 2011, when I and Kirsten John Foy, who was working for then Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, were detained by police during the West Indian Day Parade.