This weekend Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul, alongside NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, announced dramatically increased police and surveillance presence in the New York City subway system. The following response is from Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) spokesperson Sala Cyril (she/her):
“New Yorkers of color - particularly Black and Latinx New Yorkers - know all too well that the Mayor and Governor’s surveillance and broken windows policing tactics do not keep our communities safe. Spending more resources to inundate our subway system with police will not address violence in our subways—it will only lead to increased criminalization and harassment of New Yorkers who the Mayor and Governor claim to be protecting.
"More police on the subway doesn’t mean New Yorkers will feel safer. Instead, we continue to see NYPD harass street vendors and homeless New Yorkers, target youth of color, and hyper-aggressively enforce low-level offenses, criminalizing New Yorkers and creating even more precarity for many who are still struggling to recover from the economic impacts of the past few years and whose communities have been divested from for decades.
“Solutions to address violence in our subways and throughout the city will come from investing in our communities and addressing the long-term systemic needs of our city. New Yorkers need resources put into our crumbling subway infrastructure to ensure we have better, more accessible, and frequent transportation service. The Mayor and Governor must invest in creating affordable, permanent housing to ensure all New Yorkers have access to safe places to live with dignity, and invest in comprehensive, accessible mental health services. The Mayor and Governor must prioritize solutions that work – not expand the city’s already overly-invasive surveillance systems and police presence which only cause more harm and violence in our communities, not prevent it.”
About Communities United for Police Reform
Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) is an unprecedented campaign to end discriminatory policing practices in New York, and to build a lasting movement that promotes public safety and reduces reliance on policing. CPR runs coalitions of over 200 local, statewide and national organizations, bringing together a movement of community members, lawyers, researchers and activists to work for change. The partners in this campaign come from all 5 boroughs, from all walks of life and represent many of those most unfairly targeted by the NYPD.