In the Media

“A tale of a new city”

De Blasio delivers State of the City address
02/03/2021
Manhattan Times

From a tale of two cities to a tale of a new city.

Mayor Bill de Blasio delivered his 2021 State of the City address on January 28, emphasizing the city’s plan to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Let me tell you a story about how things change, about the way we come back, about the way we build something better,” de Blasio said.

“Let me tell you a tale of a new city,” he remarked, harkening back to his “two cities” campaign theme, which promised to end inequity.

Six Mayoral Contenders Say They Want NYPD Officers To Live In NYC. Would That Change Anything?

02/02/2021
Gothamist

Six mayoral candidates—Shaun Donovan, Kathryn Garcia, Andrew Yang, Carlos Menchaca, Maya Wiley, and Ray McGuire—now say they support a change in state law to require NYPD officers to live in New York City.

Donovan was the latest candidate to publicly voice support for the change at a debate Sunday night.

New York City Council Proposes Sweeping NYPD Reforms

02/01/2021
ProPublica

The New York City Council has announced an ambitious slate of legislation to reshape the NYPD and increase accountability at the nation’s largest police force. Among the proposed changes, the police commissioner would be stripped of final say over disciplining officers.

In an ongoing investigation, ProPublica has detailed how NYPD officers who’ve mistreated civilians have escaped significant punishment and even been promoted to top positions, while commissioners have often dismissed proposed penalties for officers.

NYC community groups to play formal role in hiring of NYPD precinct commanders: de Blasio

01/28/2021
New York Daily News

Community groups will now play a formal role in the selection of NYPD precinct commanders, Mayor de Blasio announced Thursday.

Police precinct community councils will be able to interview candidates who are being considered for the posts and review their performance after they’ve been hired under the plan.

Yet the council’s feedback is only advisory, and the police commissioner will have a final say over who’s chosen.

NYPD commissioner vows to alert public if he deviates from new disciplinary guidelines for rogue cops

01/26/2021
New York Daily News

When rogue police are punished by the NYPD, it will be by the book — and if it isn’t, the public is going to know why, the city’s top cop pledged Tuesday.

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said he does not plan to deviate from the punishments laid out in the department’s new Disciplinary Matrix.

“When we have a set of rules, whether as a police officer or a police commissioner putting out discipline, when we are working on agreed upon rules, the expectation is that they are going to be followed,” Shea told NY1.

De Blasio Touts New NYPD Disciplinary Guidelines, but Critics Say It Lacks Legally Binding Power

01/21/2021
NY1

Since announcing it late last Friday, Mayor Bill de Blasio has been calling attention to the NYPD's Disciplinary Matrix, a new document that outlines disciplinary action for officer misconduct.

Although no such guidance has previously been available, some working to increase NYPD transparency say the document lacks the binding power of the law.

NYPD’s new set of disciplinary guidelines for cops has big holes, critics say

01/21/2021
New York Daily News

The NYPD’s new and much-hyped disciplinary matrix will not change the fact that the police commissioner still has ultimate discretion over how punishments are meted out for cops’ misconduct, Mayor de Blasio revealed Thursday.

De Blasio spent much of the morning talking up a recent agreement between the NYPD and the Civilian Complaint Review Board on a set of new guidelines that lay out how cops will be disciplined for a variety of transgressions, including the use of chokeholds and providing false information.

Thirty people arrested and ten officers injured in violent clashes between Black Lives Matter protesters and NYPD outside City Hall at the end of a march to commemorate MLK day

01/19/2021
DailyMail

Riot police in New York City fought with protesters who marched across Brooklyn Bridge to celebrate Martin Luther King Day on Monday.

A Black Lives Matter demonstration began peacefully in Brooklyn on Monday afternoon to mark the annual commemoration.

Several hundred people then crossed into Manhattan.

As night fell, they were told to clear the area but some refused. CBS reported that 30 people were arrested, and ten police officers were injured including a captain struck on the head with a bottle.

NYPD Fights to Keep Eyes Off Discipline Records

After a federal judge dismissed most of their bid for a preliminary injunction blocking the release of records, NYPD and fire unions are appealing.
01/19/2021
Courthouse News

MANHATTAN (CN) — Former New York City Police Department officers and firefighters who say Mayor Bill de Blasio put them in harm’s way by unsealing discipline records advanced their claims to the Second Circuit on Tuesday. 

In June of last year, the state repealed a rule that limited public access, except by court order, to the personnel performance records of police officers, firefighters and correction officers. 

Pages