In the Department of Justice's brief filed with the Stop and Frisk trial court judge, attorneys for the federal government stated that the DOJ has an interest in the outcome of the Stop and Frisk trial, because Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits "discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, or national origin by police departments receiving federal funds." Why couldn't anybody in a position of authority in the City Council make a determination that Stop and Frisk represents discrimination that is prohibited by the Civil Rights Act ? In its filing, the DOJ, which has generally been impotent and misguided in its prosecutions under the Obama administration, has somehow managed to put the City Council to shame with this filing. This is a stinging assessment of Christine Quinn's failure as a leader of the City Council. Now, will the other Councilmembers demand any City Council hearings into the NYPD's violations of the Civil Rights Act ?
At Thursday's rally by LGBTQ groups outside the U.S. District Courthouse at 500 Pearl Street, where the Floyd v. City of New York class-action, stop-and-frisk trial was in progress, only one mayoral candidate showed up to express solidarity -- and to renew a call for an end to stop-and-frisk. And it wasn't Christine Quinn.
Thank you, John Liu, for showing leadership, courage, and solidarity with the LGBTQ community.
Maybe New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has not been able to hear the pleas from the LGBTQ community, because her office is soundproofed ?
During Michael Bloomberg's three terms as mayor, over 5 million New Yorkers have been stopped and frisked. During the over-lapping time that Christine Quinn has been Speaker of the City Council, over 3.9 million New Yorkers have been stopped and frisked.
Many politicians act powerless in the face of the NYPD's use of brutality, discrimination, and excessive force, but the members of the City Council, which each year approve the NYPD budget, simply rubber stamp Mayor Michael Bloomberg's attack on due process, the Bill of Rights, other civil rights, and civil liberties. If the City Council actually stood up to the mayor in the budget process, then maybe the City Council could legislate change without having to use the court system, like what is happening right now in the Floyd trial, a lawsuit that is challenging the NYPD's unconstitutional stop-and-frisk practices.
The description at Thursday's rally by members of various LGBTQ groups of how the NYPD target, harass, and even falsely arrest LGBTQ New Yorkers was tragic, and the pleas for help were compelling. But one must wonder why Speaker Quinn was absent from the rally, why Speaker Quinn did not express solidarity with the LTGBQ community's efforts to end stop-and-frisk, and why the Floyd trial was being used as a backdrop for this demonstration ?
Because so many non-profits took part in Thursday's rally, one must wonder if an explanation of the lock-step could not be found in a demand for an election year political favour ? We know that how Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn manufacture political patronage support is by making private donations or distributing discretionary City Council funds, respectively. Were the members of the LGBTQ groups manipulated into showing up outside the Floyd trial in order to distract from the fact that Speaker Quinn supports stop-and-frisk and has expressed her desire to continue NYPD Commish Ray Kelly's policies of harassment, profiling, discrimination, and brutality ?
Indeed, last December, activists in Jackson Heights organised a demonstration to highlight Speaker Quinn's failure to end stop-and-frisk. Speaker Quinn is a high-profile LGBT leader, but she turns her back on LGBTQ New Yorkers, who are deliberately profiled and targeted for harassment and arrest by the NYPD, said activists during last December's demonstration.
Man who claimed cops beat him during gay pride party says police made multiple return visits to his home and conducted illegal searches of his apartment.
Christine Quinn, the openly lesbian Speaker of the New York City Council, used to be the director of the Anti-Violence Project. Back when she was head of AVP, Ms. Quinn used to advocate on behalf of victims of violence.
But now that Speaker Quinn is running for mayor, she is afraid to aggravate her close relationship with Raymond Kelly, the commish of the NYPD.
If LGBT New Yorkers get beat up by haters, you can count on Speaker Quinn to elbow her way in for photo opportunities. But if the haters are NYPD officers, you can count on Speaker Quinn to look the other way.
Jabbar Campbell — a Crown Heights man who claimed cops disabled his apartment’s security camera before beating him during his gay pride party in January now says 77th Precinct cops have since made multiple return visits to his home.
Campbell, who had already filed a notice of intent to sue the city, said plainclothes cops illegally searched his place last week. Campbell said he turned over the footage to investigators.
The Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating both incidents, police said.
Christine Quinn has transformed into the worst about neoliberalism.
Speaker Quinn has embraced a culture that can only be described as "pay to play." She accepted $30,000 in campaign donations from the owners of Rudin Management Company before the City Council approved the zone-busting Rudin luxury condo conversion plan for St. Vincent's Hospital. Speaker Quinn supports hospital closings, so that billionaire real estate developers can capitalise and profit off of the assets of public charities. To that end, Speaker Quinn has curried favour with Brad Hoylman, Kathy Wilde, and the Partnership for New York, of which Rudin Management Company is a member. Speaker Quinn has supported all of Mayor Bloomberg's most controversial initiatives, from mayoral control of the school system, to the outsourcing of top education posts to business CEO's with no education credentials. Speaker Quinn also supports the racist NYPD commish Ray Kelly, which puts Speaker Quinn at odds with various minority communities in New York City.
This is a political parody slideshow that was composed with editorial criticism and satire.
''Stop-And-Frisk'' Violates Title III Of The Civil Rights Act ; Why Is Christine Quinn Using Taxpayer Money To Pay For State-Sponsored Forms Of Discrimination ?
Title III of the Civil Rights Act prohibits state and municipal governments from denying access to public facilities on grounds of race, color, religion, or national origin. Access can be construed to be peaceful enjoyment.
Yet, the NYPD deny access or peaceful enjoyment of public facilities, such as sidewalks, streets, and subway stations based on a person's race, color, religion, or national origin when the NYPD ''stop-and-frisk'' people of color, of a certain faith, or of a certain nationality.
Since Christine Quinn has become speaker, 3.7 million New Yorkers have been stopped-and-frisked.
Black and Latino communities continue to be the overwhelming target of these tactics. See the NYCLU Stop-And-Frisk Fact Page for more information.
Quinn's NYPD Strategy Will Cost Her Votes, Warns Joe.My.God.
LGBT blogger ''Joe.My.God.'' warns supports of New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn that police issues may cost Speaker Quinn electoral support in her race to become mayor of New York City.
Republicans have longed for Kelly to run for mayor as the two other declared GOP candidates (MTA head Joe Lhota and billionaire grocer John Catsimatidis) are considered very long shots against Quinn or any other Democrat. While Quinn's alleged "secret deal" would take out her best-polling GOP opponent, keeping Ray "Stop-And-Frisk" Kelly in the top cop job will surely sour many prospective Quinn supporters, who could turn to Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, one of stop-and-frisk's loudest detractors.
One will see if Josh Isay, one of Speaker Quinn's political handlers, will heed the call ?
If The NYPD Commish Runs For Mayor, Then Ed Koch, The Snooki Of New York City Politics, Would Dump New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn In Favour Of Commish Kelly.
