From xxxxxx <[email protected]>
Subject De Blasio Staffers Demand `Radical Change from Mayor' in Open Letter
Date June 5, 2020 3:14 AM
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[ Two-hundred thirty-six current and former staffers for Mayor de
Blasio signed an open letter calling on him to live up to the promises
of reform that initially drew them to work for him. One demand is to
cut the $6 billion police budget by 1/6.] [[link removed]]

DE BLASIO STAFFERS DEMAND `RADICAL CHANGE FROM MAYOR' IN OPEN LETTER
  [[link removed]]

 

Shant Shahrigian
June 3, 2020
New York Daily News
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_ Two-hundred thirty-six current and former staffers for Mayor de
Blasio signed an open letter calling on him to live up to the promises
of reform that initially drew them to work for him. One demand is to
cut the $6 billion police budget by 1/6. _

NYPD officers spray Mace into the crowd of protesters gathered at
Barclays Center to protest the recent murder of George Floyd on May
29, 2020, in Brooklyn, New York., Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images //
The Intercept

 

WE ARE FORMER AND CURRENT DE BLASIO ADMINISTRATION STAFFERS.

We came to the Mayor’s Office from different places and walks of
life, but we all shared a common goal: to work for a fairer, more just
New York City.

None of us joined the de Blasio Administration believing this mayor
would be radical on criminal justice policy. That was apparent from
the moment he hired Bill Bratton to be his police commissioner. But we
saw in Bill de Blasio a chance for real change.

He made his opposition to “Stop and Frisk” a pillar of his run for
the mayoralty. He spoke passionately about his duty as a parent to
make New York City safer for his Black son and daughter. He called for
cuts to the City’s jail population, and for the closure of Rikers
Island.

It was our hope that these words were a starting place. That we could
push the Administration further to reform New York City’s racist
criminal legal system. That together we could create real, lasting
change for a City and police department that have failed Black and
brown New Yorkers, generation after generation.

OUR TIME IN THE MAYOR’S OFFICE SHOWED US THAT THE CHANGE WE HAD
HOPED FOR, AND FOUGHT FOR, MIGHT NEVER COME.

We saw up close the Administration’s unwillingness to challenge the
abuses of the NYPD—the Mayor’s refusal to fire Daniel Pantaleo for
choking the life out of Eric Garner, the continuation of the failed
“Broken Windows” policing strategy that criminalizes our Black and
brown communities, the rejection of even basic accountability measures
like making information public about police officers accused of
misconduct.

We saw how, while crime rates are at record lows, the Administration
has continued to pour money into the NYPD budget—which is now almost
$1 billion larger than when de Blasio took office—heightening the
over-policing of Black and brown communities.

We saw how the Mayor refused to end the use of solitary confinement,
which took the lives of New Yorkers like Kalief Browder and Layleen
Polanco, in the City’s jails.

We saw the aggressive push for the construction of new borough-based
jails, at a cost of $9 billion, despite activists’ cries to invest
that money in jobs and alternatives to incarceration.

The chasm between Mayor de Blasio’s promise to reform the criminal
legal system and the actions of his Administration has only widened in
the past year.

De Blasio expanded the City’s cooperation with Immigration and
Customs Enforcement, which wages war on our immigrant communities.

He joined with police and prosecutors as they demonized the
progressive bail and discovery reforms that activists and advocates
spent years lobbying for in Albany.

He sat by as thousands of our fellow New Yorkers remained locked in
cages on Rikers Island, while a deadly virus raged inside its jails.

And these past long days, as New Yorkers have taken to the streets
demanding an end to the racist policing that humiliates, maims, and
kills Black New Yorkers, he stood with the very police who perpetrate
that violence.

Many of us marched at these protests. We’ve all seen the images and
read the stories. Crowds of cops swarming over a single protestor,
raining down blows with their batons. Protestors rammed with police
cars. A rampaging cop throwing a protester to the curb, sending her to
the hospital with seizures. A cop drawing his gun and pointing it into
a crowd. A cop macing a defenseless young man with his hands in the
air. Cops covering their badges so they could act with utter impunity.

What was the Mayor’s response
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He said that the NYPD had “acted appropriately.” That police had
“shown a lot of restraint.” That he “was not going to blame”
officers who were trying to deal with an “impossible situation.”

And while the Mayor did attempt to walk back some of his comments on
Sunday morning, by Tuesday he had implemented an 8:00 PM citywide
curfew, an unprecedented attempt to silence New Yorkers’ cries for
justice.

WE HAVE JOINED TOGETHER IN WRITING THIS LETTER BECAUSE WE COULD NOT
REMAIN SILENT WHILE THE ADMINISTRATION WE SERVED ALLOWS THE NYPD TO
TURN OUR CITY INTO AN OCCUPIED TERRITORY. OUR FORMER BOSS MIGHT NOT
HEAR THE CRIES FOR JUSTICE FROM BLACK AND BROWN NEW YORKERS, BUT WE
DO.

We are demanding radical change from the Mayor, who is on the brink of
losing all legitimacy in the eyes of New Yorkers.

1. REDUCE THE NYPD OPERATING BUDGET BY $1 BILLION IN FISCAL YEAR 2021,
AND REALLOCATE THAT MONEY TO ESSENTIAL SOCIAL SERVICES, INCLUDING
HOUSING SUPPORT AND RENTAL RELIEF, FOOD ASSISTANCE, AND HEALTH CARE,
IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE DEMANDS OF THE NYC BUDGET JUSTICE CAMPAIGN
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2. IMMEDIATELY FIRE ALL NYPD OFFICERS FOUND TO HAVE USED EXCESSIVE
FORCE—OR TO HAVE COVERED THEIR BADGES—AT PROTESTS.

3. RELEASE THE NAMES AND OFFICIAL DISCIPLINARY RECORDS OF ALL NYPD
PERSONNEL WHO HAVE BEEN ACCUSED OF USING EXCESSIVE FORCE, COVERING
THEIR BADGE NUMBERS, OR OTHER MISCONDUCT.

4. APPOINT AN INDEPENDENT COMMISSION, IN THE VEIN OF THE KNAPP AND
MOLLEN COMMISSIONS, COMPOSED OF CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEYS, JOURNALISTS,
AND ACTIVISTS, INCLUDING ABOLITIONIST ORGANIZERS, TO INVESTIGATE THE
RESPONSE OF THE MAYOR’S OFFICE AND THE NYPD TO THE MAY AND JUNE 2020
PROTESTS AGAINST POLICE VIOLENCE.

WE ARE ALSO CALLING UPON ALL FORMER AND CURRENT STAFFERS OF CONSCIENCE
TO STAND WITH US IN OUR CALL FOR CHANGE.

We all chose to serve for a better New York. STAND WITH US NOW AND
DEMAND JUSTICE—FOR GEORGE FLOYD, BREONNA TAYLOR, TONY MCDADE, AND
AHMAUD ARBERY. FOR ERIC AND ERICA GARNER. AND FOR ALL BLACK AND BROWN
NEW YORKERS.

Signed,

Aarati Cohly, Aaron Ghitelman, Aaron S., Abdul Hafiz, Abe E., Abigail
Cook-Mack, Aileen Almanzar, Aisha Pasha (Public Engagement Unit),
Alacia Lauer (Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice), Alejandro Cintron
(Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Alex F. (Public Engagement
Unit), Alex Washington, Alexandra R., Alexis H., Alyssa Lott, Amanda
Clarke, Amen Ra Mashariki, Amrita Dasgupta, Amy Furman (Mayor’s
Office of Recovery and Resiliency), Andrea H., Andrew Schustek, Angela
Sherpa, Angela Lascala-Gruenewald, Angela Terry, Angie Carpio
(Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice), Anthi Markatos, Anthony
Jackson (Mayor’s Office of Creative Communications), Arelis
Hernandez, Ariel L., Ashe Mcgovern, Ashley C., Ashley Dinzey (Gracie
Mansion), Ashley Putnam (NYC Office of Workforce Development), Audrey
Crabtree-Hannigan (Office of Research & Media Analysis), Ayesha D.,
Ayesha I., Ben Kantor, Ben Sarle (Mayor’s Press Office), Benita
Miller, Benjamin Mandel (Mayor’s Office of Sustainability), Bianca
Guerrero (Mayor’s Office of Policy and Planning), Brad Raimondo (de
Blasio for Mayor 2017), Brandon G. Brandon West (Mayor’s Office of
Management and Budget), Brandt Hamilton (Mayor’s Office of
Speechwriting), Brian Erickson (Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery
Operations), Brian Johnson (Mayor’s Office of Management and
Budget), Bridgit Donnelly, Camara Cooper (Mayor’s Office of
Immigrant Affairs), Cara F., Carly Fleming (Public Engagement Unit)
Carlyn Cowen (Mayor’s Office of Contract Services), Catherine
Almonte, Cathy Pasion (Mayor’s Office of Sustainability), Chai
Jindasurat (Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget), Charlette
Renault-Caragianes, Christopher Collins-McNeil (Mayor’s Office of
Intergovernmental Affairs), Colin Stayna-Wynter, Cristina Gonzalez
(Mayor’s Office of Appointments), Cristine K. (Mayor’s Office of
Immigrant Affairs), Curtis Cravens (Mayor’s Office of Recovery and
Resiliency), Daniel B., Daniel Backman, Daniel Edelman, Darren Martin,
David Vincent Rodriguez (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Deena
Patel, Diana G., Dina Rybak, Dina Simon, Dorothy Suchkova (Mayor’s
Office of Criminal Justice), Douglas Nam Le (Climate Policy and
Programs), Eden T., Elisa Gahng, Elizabeth Olguin, Ellen P., Elvin
Garcia (Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit), Emily Apple, Emily Preuss,
Emnet Almedom (Mayor’s Office of Economic Opportunity), Eric G.,
Erika Lindsey, Esai Ramirez (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs)
Essence Franklin (Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity), Esther
Rosario, Eve Grassfield (Office of the Deputy Mayor for Strategic
Policy Initiatives), Ezra Cukor (CCHR), Felicia H., Frances Chapman,
Gabriela Martins (NYC Census 2020), Gagan Kaur, Giulianna S., Gloria
Medina (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Gwendolyn Litvak,
Hanif Yazdi (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Hannah Shaw
(Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity), Harrison N., Helen Ho,
Hermanoschy Bernard, Hina Naveed (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant
Affairs), Ian Hanson, Ifeoma Ike (Young Men’s Initiative), Irina
Tavera (NYC Census 2020), Jacqlene Moran (Mayor’s Office of Recovery
and Resiliency), Jacqueline Crossan, James N., Janie K., Jasmine
Fernandez, Jason Spear (Young Men’s Initiative), Jean Bae, Jen
Samawat (Office of the First Lady of New York City), Jenna Tatum (NYC
Mayor’s Office of Sustainability), Jennifer Scaife (Mayor’s Office
of Criminal Justice), Jennings Louis, Jeremiah Cedeño (NYC Census
2020), Jerry Bruno, Jessica Woolford (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant
Affairs), Jesús Alejandro C., Joi Rae, Jonathan Soto, Joseph Desimone
(de Blasio for Mayor 2013), Joshua C., Juana Silverio, Julie Kim (NYC
Census), Julie W., June Glover, Karen Coronel (Mayor’s Office of
Appointments), Kate Bernyk, Kate Van Tassel, Katerín Fernández
(Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services), Katie
Unger, Kimberly P., Kristen Grennan, Kunchok Dolma (Mayor’s Office
of Immigrant Affairs), Lacey Tauber, Leah R., Leigh Shapiro, Lexi I.,
Lilly L., Lily K., Lindsay F. (Mayor’s Office of Operations),
Lindsay Mollineaux (Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics), Lindsay
Scola, Lois S., Lucia Goyen (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs),
Manvir Singh (Mayor’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs), Maria
Cruz Lee, Mariana Veras, Maribel Hernández Rivera (Mayor’s Office
of Immigrant Affairs), Marielle Sanchez (NYC Office of Workforce
Development), Marissa Jackson (Mayor’s Office for International
Affairs), Marv McMoore, Jr. (Mayor’s Office of Appointments), Mary
Bruch, Matthew Dhaiti (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Matthew
M. (Mayor’s Office of Appointments/PEU), Megan Abron (Mayor’s
Office of Immigrant Affairs) Megan Macinnes, Melissa Lachan (Mayor’s
Office of Appointments), Michael Cox, Michael Shaikh (Mayor’s Office
of Sustainability), Mike D’Armi (Public Engagement Unit), Minden K.,
Minelly De Coo, Mirjam Grunenfelder-Reig, Mitsue Iwata (Mayor’s
Office of Data Analytics), Moeena Das, Molly Cohen, Molly Dexter,
Molly Hartman, Morgan A. (Mayor’s Office of Food Policy), Natalie
Leary (Mayor’s Office of Special Projects and Community Events),
Nathifa Forde, Nick Gulotta (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs),
Nicole B., Nora Stephens, Onnesha Roychoudhuri, Oonagh J., Pascale
Mevs, Pooja Podugu, Rachael Berkey (Mayor’s Office of Creative
Communications), Rachel F., Rachel G. (Mayor’s Office for Economic
Opportunity), Rachel Patterson, Rachel Smith (Mayor’s Office of the
Chief Technology Officer), Radhe Patel (Office of the Deputy Mayor for
Health and Human Services), Raphael Pope-Sussman (Mayor’s Office of
Speechwriting), Reagan S. (Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice),
Rebecca B. (Mayor’s Office of Operations), Rebecca F., Rebecca H.,
Rebecca Lynch, Richard André (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs),
Ricky Da Costa, Robin D., Rodney Stiles, Rosalia Contreras, Rosanna E.
(Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs), Rose Destefano (Mayor’s
Office of Workforce Development), Ross Karp, S. Wright, Sam Hersh
(Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency), Sam S. (Mayor’s
Office of Immigrant Affairs), Samantha Adelberg, Samantha Grassle
(Mayor’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer), Samantha Villella,
Sara Nitschke, Sara S., Sarah Bennett, Sarah L., Sarah Nolan
(Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs) Sarah Shuster (Mayor’s
Office of Immigrant Affairs), Sasha Beder-Schenker, Schuyler
Mapp-Williams, Shaddi Zeid (Mayor’s Office of Appointments), Shaheen
M. (Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services), Shehab
Chowdhury, Shevani P. (Mayor’s Office of Operations), Shifra G.
(Mayor’s Office of Operations), Shira Mitchell (Mayor’s Office of
Data Analytics), Silvia S. (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs),
Simon Rimmele (Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics), Sofia M., Sona
Simran Kaur Rai, Sophia Cho, Sophie Pauze (ThriveNYC), Stacy L.
(Mayor’s Office of Sustainability), Suzanne Herman (Public
Engagement Unit), Tatianna Echevarria, Taylor Yasui, Travis Hardy
(Mayor’s Office of International Affairs) Trenton Seubert (de Blasio
for Mayor 2017), Ufei Chan (Mayor’s Office of Sustainability),
Valentina Strokopytova, Victoria A., Yamilka M. (Mayor’s Office of
Immigrant Affairs), Zain Khan, Zakiya Robinson

 

_[Shant Shahrigian covers politics for the Daily News. He was
previously an assistant city editor for the paper, and has also worked
for outlets from the hyperlocal Riverdale Press to Germany’s
international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle.]_

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