Gotham Gazette

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Communities United for Police Reform

Communities United for Police Reform

  • Max & Murphy Podcast: The Police Reform Movement's Goals for 2021

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    NYPD recruits (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    February 3, 2021 - Max & Murphy Podcast: The Police Reform Movement's Goals for 2021

    Kesi Foster of Communities United for Police Reform Action Fund joined the show to discuss what's next for the police reform movement in New York City, especially the next city budget fight and the 2021 city elections.

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think -- we're on Twitter @TweetBenMaxand ...

  • Dermot Shea's Rocky First Year as NYPD Commissioner

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    Mayo de Blasio & NYPD Commissioner Shea (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    This past Wednesday, December 2, marked one year since Dermot Shea was sworn in as the 44th commissioner of the New York Police Department, the third commissioner to serve in the role under Mayor Bill de Blasio. Shea’s first year in the top-cop job has been tumultuous and punctuated with controversy; a trial by fire in unprecedented times, and he often came up short, as judged by critics on both his left and his right and those simply frustrated by police brutality and rising

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  • How Do Black Lawmakers and Activists View ‘Defunding the NYPD’? It’s Complicated

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    Protesters demanded a $1 billion cut to the NYPD budget (photo: @VOCALNewYork)


    The New York City Council and Mayor Bill de Blasio crafted an $88.2 billion budget for the current fiscal year in what was one of the most contentious budget negotiations in years, coming amid a pandemic-caused recession and a resurgent racial justice movement that sought to “Defund the NYPD” and redirect some of its massive resources to social services in communities of color. But the budget process showed major divisions in the City Council, where several of the notable ‘yes’ votes on the

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  • De Blasio Promised Another Charter Revision Commission; Electeds and Advocates are Ready with Suggestions

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    Mayor de Blasio (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    When Mayor Bill de Blasio said in late April that he was creating a task force to lead a “fair recovery” from the COVID-19 pandemic, nestled in his announcement was a brief statement that he also intends to call another Charter Revision Commission. But the mayor hasn’t yet convened that commission, which would be the third to be created while he has been mayor, the second by him alone, and hasn’t explained his rationale for it. 

    There have already been two

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Police Reformers Dissatisfied with NYPD Moves in City Budget

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    (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    July 1, 2020 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Police Reformers Dissatisfied with NYPD Moves in City Budget

    joo hyun kanginsetJoo-Hyun Kang of Communities United for Police Reform joined the show to discuss police reformers' dissatisfaction with the new city budget in terms of NYPD funding and related decisions.

    Listen to the conversation and let

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  • De Blasio Says He’s Reformed the NYPD and Improved Police-Community Relations. The Reality is Complicated.

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    Mayor de Blasio & members of the NYPD (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    “Fire Pantaleo!” the crowd chanted. “Fire Kizzy Adonis!”

    At an August 14 rally on the steps of City Hall, a crowd of advocates and elected officials called on Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill to take what they said was long overdue action against police officer misconduct. Daniel Pantaleo is, of course, the officer who used a banned chokehold while arresting Staten Island resident Eric Garner in 2014, leading to Garner’s death. He was on desk duty for

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Police Reform Movement is Focused on Officer Accountability

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    (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    July 10, 2019 - Max & Murphy Podcast: the Police Reform Movement is Focused on NYPD Officer Accountability

    anthonine pierre bmc wbai 150Anthonine Pierre of Brooklyn Movement Center and Communities United for Police Reform joined the show to discuss what police reformers are focused on right now, Mayor de Blasio's record

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  • Charter Revision Commission Hears Expert Testimony on Police Accountability

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    (photo: @Charter2019NYC)


    The 2019 Charter Revision Commission met on Thursday evening to discuss police accountability reforms before an impassioned crowd filled with activists. Local advocates along with some politicians have long called for increased transparency and accountability in policing, particularly in recent years following the 2014 death of Eric Garner at the hands of NYPD officers on Staten Island and the slow, somewhat secretive process by which any accountability has been handled for that incident and others like it over the years.

    The commission

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  • Right to Know Act: Progress and Disappointment

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    On Tuesday, the New York City Council passed two police reform bills. One marks a vital step toward police reform and accountability. The other takes our city in the wrong direction.

    First the good news: a consent to search bill, sponsored by Council Member Antonio Reynoso, passed with support from over 200 community organizations, including the families of New Yorkers killed by police, and organizations led by homeless, LGBTQ, undocumented, and formerly incarcerated New Yorkers, and black and Latino youth. The bill will require the

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  • Bill de Blasio’s Police Accountability Problem

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    Mayor de Blasio (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign account recently posted a Twitter message touting the NYPD’s neighborhood policing initiative. “New York City is proving to the rest of the country that respectful, compassionate neighborhood policing drives down crime & makes us safer,” the tweet from @BilldeBlasio read.

    In a response symbolic of a problem de Blasio is facing as he heads into his re-election year, Lumumba

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