12.26.17 – Questions re: Felder op-ed against Right to Know Act

On 12.26,17, members of NYSD 17 for Progress sent the following email to State Sen. Felder asking specific questions about an op-ed he authored arguing against the Right to Know Act. The email is included below. This blog will be updated with any response received.

Dear State Sen. Felder,

We write to you as constituents who recently read your op-ed in The Yeshiva World against the Right to Know Act, passed in December by the New York City Council. Several elements of the piece caused us concern, and we’re hoping to learn more about your thinking regarding these key matters.

1) You wrote that, “Graffiti, petty street crimes and homelessness are only the beginning” of the city’s growing public safety problems.

We found it particularly troubling that you seemed to list “homelessness” as a criminal matter to be addressed by the NYPD. Homelessness in NYC has indeed increased dramatically in recent years, but numerous homeless individuals work full-time jobs, while advocates link homelessness to a lack of affordable housing. A recent article in The Yeshiva World noted that you bought a homeless man a gift card to Dunkin’ Donuts on Thanksgiving. Did your piece really mean to portray homelessness as a crime?

2) You wrote that, “Despite some elected officials chirping about how safe NYC is, the truth is that since the outlaw of stop and frisk quality of life crimes have increased exponentially.”

According to NYPD crime statistics, through Dec. 17, the precincts covering South Brooklyn saw all categories of major crime – murder, rape, burglary, felony assault, grand larceny, and car thefts – fall compared to the same period last year, with one exception: 53 murders were reported this year in South Brooklyn, compared to 48 last year.

More broadly, the number of major crimes reported in South Brooklyn has fallen from 90,355 in 1990 to 14,561 in 2016.

City-wide, through Dec. 17, major crime throughout NYC is down 5.47 percent compared to the same period last year, down 8.75 compared to two years ago, down 8.95 percent compared to seven years ago, and down 77.66 percent compared to 24 years ago.

Assuredly, crime remains an issue for New York residents, and even one crime is a crime too many. That said, based on the above statistics, we don’t see why you feel that “quality of life crimes have increased exponentially” in recent years. Can you explain why you believe this to be the case?

3) You wrote that with the Act, the City Council aims “to obliterate any remaining authority our officers still have,” adding that the legislation is part of a “constant chipping away at the authority of the police creates an atmosphere of anxiety around proactive policing.”

Can you explain why you believe the social and practical authority of the NYPD has been reduced in recent years, and what specifically leads you to believe this? We would note that later in the article, you described the NYPD as “a world class department.”

We are eager to receive your thoughts on these important matters.

Sincerely,

David Goldberg
Naomi Rabeeya
Aaron Wexler
Ellen Bilofsky
Gerald Cook
Julio Pena III
Rebeca Ames
John V. Santore

SD 17 constituents and members of NYSD 17 for Progress

— Posted on 12.27.17 by JVS, backdated to 12.26.17