Mayor: Stop the insanity
THE CITY COUNCIL HATES NYPD, TOO
Mayor Adams drew a line in the sand with the City Council Friday as he vetoed a controversial bill that would make cops record all street stops — and railed that the measure is a massive waste of the NYPD’s time.
The mayor now faces the likelihood that his veto of the bill, which had overwhelming support in the council, will be overridden — and he now must wage a battle to recruit councilmembers to his side as Speaker Adrienne Adams closes ranks.
“I’m asking the City Council members to read this entire bill and then compare it with a Level 1 stop and see and fully understand the interaction,” the mayor said.
“The intentions are good. We agree on much of the table but the aspect of Level 1 stops,” he added in a more toned-down approach than recent appeals.
The City Council pushed through the legislation — dubbed the How Many Stops Act — at the end of last year with a veto-proof 35-9 vote.
It requires officers to log demographic data in all levels of stops, including so-called Level 1 stops, which could be something like simply questioning a potential witness. Currently, officers only have to check a box saying they conducted a Level 1 stop
The mayor will now have to swing at least two councilmembers to not vote to override, which requires a two-thirds majority of the 51 city lawmakers.
In the Blue Room on Friday morning, the mayor made his case to the councilors who may be on the fence over the volume of reporting in the bill.
“We’re already using body cameras to document these interactions and making sure that we’re getting exactly what we expect from our police officers. That’s why I’m vetoing this legislation,” the mayor said.
‘Record all stops’
Over the last few days, Adams has tried to fire up his supporters over the legislation through social-media videos and pointed statements at public events. On Thursday night, he slammed the New York Real Estate Board for its silence.
“I have not seen one comment from you,” he snapped, urging them to run ads against the bill.
Hours earlier, he charged that the bill would have delayed the capture of a dangerous stabbing suspect because of the mounds of paperwork mandated by the law. The bill has sparked a longfestering feud between the mayor and his allies and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who initially sponsored the legislation.
“I ask the people who put together this bill and Jumaane Williams, when is the last time you did a piece of legislation for the victims of crimes,” said NYPD detectives union head Paul DiGiacomo while standing next to Adams.
Williams fired back moments after the veto, saying the mayor was “manipulating people’s pains and fear to feed his ego and political interests.”
“I really wish that he would stop using deception as the hallmark of his administration,” he added.
Council leadership has been unfazed by the mayor’s campaign and is confident the members will override.
“Rather than focusing on governing our city, the mayor and his administration have sought to mislead and incite fear through a propaganda campaign, wasting government resources and creating division,” Speaker Adams and Public Safety Chair Yusef Salaam said in a joint statement. “These actions only raise questions about why this administration fears sharing data with New Yorkers about the use of their tax dollars. NYPD officers and our entire city deserve better.”