Press Releases
Civil Rights, Labor, Faith, Community and Student Leaders Condemn Mayor Bloomberg’s Failure to Respond to Request for Meeting on Stop and Frisk
—For Immediate Release: May 22, 2012
Contact: Leah Gonzalez (1199SEIU) 212-603-1190
Rachel Noerdlinger (NAN) 646-891-5903
Derek Turner (NAACP) 202-292-3383
CIVIL RIGHTS, LABOR, FAITH, COMMUNITY AND STUDENT
LEADERS CONDEMN MAYOR BLOOMBERG’S FAILURE TO RESPOND TO
REQUEST FOR MEETING ON STOP AND FRISK
REV. AL SHARPTON (NAN), GEORGE GRESHEM (1199SEIU), BEN JEALOUS (NAACP),
HECTOR FIGUEROA (32BJ) JUAN CARTAGENA (LATINO JUSTICE), AND
DONNA LIEBERMAN (NYCLU) CALL TO MEET WITH MAYOR BLOOMBERG TO
DISCUSS THIS IMPORTANT ISSUE
(New York, NY) – On June 17th, 2012, a diverse group of civil rights, labor, faith, community and student leaders are planning a silent march in New York City to bring attention to serious concerns in regards to the stop and frisk policies of the NYPD. These groups, including the NAACP, National Action Network (NAN), 1199SEIU, and NYCLU, have requested to meet with Mayor Bloomberg to discuss the matter, but he and his office have been unresponsive.
“Mayor Bloomberg’s refusal to meet with us regarding stop and frisk shows his continued unwillingness to address this important issue,” the group said. “The fact that the Mayor works with us and agrees with us on Stand Your Ground, but refuses to even meet with us about Stop and Frisk is baffling. There are many other means to maintain low crime rates, we are just looking for an opportunity to discuss them with him.”
These groups seek a meeting with Mayor Bloomberg and hope to discuss the matter soon.
VIEW LETTER TO MAYOR BLOOMBERG (PDF)
May 11, 2012
The Honorable Michael R. Bloomberg City Hall
New York, NY 10007
Dear Mayor Bloomberg:
On June 17, 2012, a diverse group of civil rights, labor, faith, community and student leaders are planning a silent march in New York City to bring attention to the serious concerns of the communities we serve about abuses related to the stop and frisk policies of the NYPD.
As the NYPD’s own data shows, nearly 90% of the over 685,000 NYPD stops and frisks by the NYPD during 2011 targeted people of color, and 88% of those stopped were never arrested or given a summons. Additionally, guns were recovered in only 780 cases. We believe that these numbers prove a need for us to work together to implement more fair, effective, and proven public safety measures.
We believe that this is one of the most urgent civil rights issues facing communities of color in New York today. As representatives of communities who experience a disproportionate amount of violence, we are in complete agreement with you about the need to reduce crime and ensure public safety. However, we do not believe the NYPD’s racially and ethnically biased and excessive application of “stop and frisk” has done anything to make the public safer. Instead, it has exposed millions of innocent New Yorkers to racial profiling and humiliation by law enforcement officials throughout the city, undercutting the trust necessary between law enforcement and communities to sustain safe and secure communities.
We welcome the opportunity to begin a dialogue with you and members of your administration to create policies that allow the NYPD to engage in data driven tactics that use factually accurate information about crime and criminal incidents. For us, because New York City has one of the nation’s largest and most visible “stop and frisk” programs, ending this abusive, racially biased tactic is a critical step in ending racial profiling in this city and beyond.
We look forward to building a stronger, more cooperative and effective relationship between Law Enforcement and the communities they serve. Should you have any questions and to arrange the scheduling of our meeting request, please have your staff contact Thomasetta Waters at 212-344-7474 ext. 112 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Benjamin Todd Jealous President and CEO NAACP
Rev. Al Sharpton Founder and President National Action Network
George Gresham
President
1199 SEIU Health Care Workers East
Donna Lieberman
Executive Director
New York Civil Liberties Union
Hazel N. Dukes
President
NAACP New York State Conference