FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 19, 2024
Contact: Sophie Ellman-Golan | sophie@jfrej.org

NEW YORK -- Following Mayor Adams’ veto of the How Many Stops Act, Maddy Elfenbein of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ) released the following statement:

“Mayor Adams has spent months fruitlessly trying to persuade City Council Members to oppose the How Many Stops Act, offering discretionary funds in exchange for ‘no’ votes and falsely claiming that greater transparency will ‘endanger public safety.’ After failing in this manipulative effort, Mayor Adams has resorted to using his veto power to stop this popular legislative package from becoming law.

“As a member of Communities United for Police Reform, JFREJ proudly joins dozens of organizations throughout our beautiful city in calling for the immediate passage of this act. Requiring the NYPD to record and publish detailed numbers about police stops will finally shine a light on the frequency of these inherently intrusive encounters.

“As Jews and as New Yorkers, we want real public safety for everyone who lives here. This includes New Yorkers of color, who are routinely and disproportionately subjected to police harassment and violence through stops like these. We know that all New Yorkers are safer when none of us has a reason to fear the police.

“Nearly four years after George Floyd’s death sparked a national call for police reform, it is shocking that the NYPD still resists calls to collect and share data about its policing practices with New Yorkers and policymakers. Real public safety requires transparency and accountability. It is sadly no surprise that this mayor, who has done everything he can to shield himself and his administration from public scrutiny, would also try to shield the NYPD from public scrutiny. The mayor’s statements about the bills have consistently contained half-truths, mischaracterizations, and sadly even outright lies. We cannot allow his fear-mongering to deter us from enacting a common-sense reform.

“The How Many Stops Act is just the beginning, but it will bring us one step closer to the city we want to live in: one with real public safety for all New Yorkers.”

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Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ) is a 6,000-member grassroots organization and the home of New York’s Jewish Left. For over 30 years, JFREJ members have organized alongside our neighbors to transform New York from a playground for the wealthy few into a real democracy, free from all forms of racist violence.