CONTACT: Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org

VOCAL-NY BLASTS MAYOR ADAMS FOR VETOING HOW MANY STOPS ACT

NEW YORK – Today, in response to Mayor Adams veto of the How Many Stops Act — a bill that would ensure transparency from the NYPD and promote community safety in our city — VOCAL-NY released the following statement, attributable to Jawanza Williams, Organizing Director for VOCAL-NY:

“Mayor Adams should be ashamed for blocking a common sense bill and continuing his campaign to erode transparency at city agencies like the NYPD. He continues to rely on misrepresentations and lies in his attempts to discredit the How Many Stops Act because his loyalties lie with the NYPD — not the people he was elected to serve. Actions speak louder than words, and vetoing this legislation is a direct blow to low-income, Black, and brown New Yorkers who live with daily racial profiling and police harassment in this city.

The historical abuses of the NYPD against communities of color compel this city to create measure of accountability. This is a matter of life and death. We stand with the Council as they override this veto to hold both the NYPD and Mayor Adams accountable to the people they serve. We urge the City Council to act immediately.”

BACKGROUND:

New Yorkers want full transparency of all NYPD street stops and investigative encounters as exemplified by the broad support of 100+ HMSA national and local endorsing organizations, 27 family members whose loved ones were killed by the NYPD, and thousands of NYers who’ve taken action to demand police transparency and oversight. The common-sense legislation was passed by a supermajority of the City Council and supported by both the Black Latino and Asian Caucus and Progressive Caucus of the council.

According to the most recent federal monitor report, at least 24% of the mayor’s revamp of the anti-crime unit – the Neighborhood Safety Teams (NST)stops have been unconstitutional and 97% have been of Black/Latinx NYers.

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