In the Media

Activists Call Bratton 'Dictatorial' for Opposing Police Reform Bill

11/19/2015
Black Star News

Commissioner Bratton excoriated on opposition to police reform legistaltion in City Council

In response to comments NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton made at a Harvard Club breakfast November 17, Communities United for Police Reform released the following statement from spokesperson Monifa Bandele.

Democracy and legislative oversight may be inconvenient for Mr. Bratton’s dictatorial wants, but as the appointee of an elected official within that system of government he must respect them.

Bratton knocks Council, calls policing bills ‘destructive’ and ‘self-serving’

11/18/2015
Capital New York

New York Police Department commissioner Bill Bratton likes the mayor but not the City Council — whose legislative efforts to tweak policing practices he derided Tuesday as “obstructive,” “destructive” and “unnecessary, intrusive and self-serving."

Speaking at a breakfast in Midtown hosted by the Citizens Budget Commission, Bratton blasted the lawmakers collectively as “a novice City Council."

Pitched Battle Over NYPD

Liberal members of City Council push for vote on policing bills that Commissioner Bratton opposes; mayor in a tough spot
11/15/2015
Wall Street Journal
Three pending pieces of City Council legislation could bring to a head a looming battle in City Hall: whether policy changes quietly negotiated with New York Police Commissioner William Bratton, and not lawmaking, are a better way to transform the NYPD. One bill, proposed following the death last year of Eric Garner, would make the use of chokeholds a crime. Another would compel officers to identify themselves to those they stop by name, rank and command. A third would require them to ask permission before conducting some searches.

Video Shows NYPD Officer Tackling, Choking, and Pepper-spraying a Skateboarder

10/28/2015
Vice News

A New York Police Department officer tackled a skateboarder in Manhattan's Columbus Circle on Sunday, placing him in what appears to be a chokehold — a maneuver banned by the NYPD patrol guide — and then pepper-sprayed him in the face. The NYPD told VICE News that the incident is now under internal review. 

The skateboarder, Queens College student Yibin Mu, posted a video of the incident on Youtube, and provided his own account of the encounter. 

How to Build the Movement for Progressive Power, the Urban Way

 Four local politicians share their ideas for humanizing the “gig economy,” reforming the police, protecting immigrant rights, and solving the municipal budget crisis.
10/27/2015
The Nation

 As the gears of federal government have ground to a halt, a new energy has been rocking the foundations of our urban centers. From Atlanta to Seattle and points in between, cities have begun seizing the initiative, transforming themselves into laboratories for progressive change. Cities Rising is The Nation’s chronicle of those urban experiments.

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De Blasio and the homeless

10/09/2015
Amsterdam News

He may not be responsible for the homeless issue, but it’s now New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s problem to handle.

De Blasio can no longer hang his hat on who started the homeless epidemic in the five boroughs, but he appears to be doing something about it. Will it be enough? The answer depends on who you ask.

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