De Blasio Denounced After Police Forcefully Clash With Protesters
The mayor drew jeers at a memorial for George Floyd in Brooklyn the day after the police aggressively enforced an 8 p.m. curfew.
Numerous protesters, including some at 50th Street and Third Avenue in Manhattan, were arrested on Wednesday after the 8 p.m. curfew.Credit...Todd Heisler/The New York Times
By Dana Rubinstein and Jeffery C. Mays
New York Times
June 4, 2020
In the first hours after the 8 p.m. curfew fell on New York City on Wednesday, clashes erupted between the police and protesters, including a melee in Downtown Brooklyn that was captured on camera and widely circulated on social media.
The widespread looting that had characterized some of the previous nights seemed to be under control, but the aggression displayed by the police against New Yorkers peacefully protesting the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis presented a fresh crisis for Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has praised the police for their “tremendous restraint” toward protesters.
Former allies denounced his leadership. New Yorkers called for the resignation of Mr. de Blasio and his police commissioner, Dermot F. Shea. Former aides bickered on Twitter about both his performance and whether their desire to distance themselves from the unpopular mayor was rooted in self-interest.
And when it seemed like Mr. de Blasio’s day could not get worse, an assailant stabbed a police officer in the neck, sparking a gunfight that left two additional officers wounded, and propelled the mayor to Kings County Hospital for an early-morning news conference on Thursday.
Mr. de Blasio is under siege, facing what may be the worst moment of his tenure since the 2014 fatal shootings of two police officers by a man seeking retribution for the police killing of Eric Garner on Staten Island.
The mayor’s appearance at a memorial for Mr. Floyd in Brooklyn on Thursday captured the depths of his unpopularity: He drew immediate jeers, despite pleas from one of the organizers, the Rev. Kevin McCall, to “respect George Floyd” and not boo. Instead, people turned their backs on the mayor and chanted “resign” and “I can’t breathe,” drowning out Mr. de Blasio’s roughly 90-second speech.
“George Floyd cannot be allowed to die in vain —” Crowd: “George Floyd! George Floyd!” [crowd chanting] “I thank you for being here … … let me tell you something: All of us who have not walked a mile in the shoes of the black community, communities of color, for all of us who know white privilege, we need do more because we don’t even fully recognize —” [crowd boos] Crowd: “George Floyd! George Floyd! George Floyd! George Floyd!”
The mayor is also still grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed more than 21,000 deaths in New York City and has had a profound effect on the city’s economy and municipal budget. Mr. de Blasio said in an interview on MSNBC on Wednesday night that the protests over Mr. Floyd’s death had created “a perfect storm wrapped in another perfect storm.”
Mr. de Blasio said he had yet to see any of the footage showing police officers using batons on protesters, but he defended the overall police response and how the curfew was enforced.
“I am the duly elected mayor, I have put this curfew in place,” he said at his daily briefing.
“In the context of crisis, in the context of curfew, there is a point where enough is enough,” the mayor added. “If officers say now is the point we need you to go home, it’s time to go home.”
He said he saw a “lot of restraint from the N.Y.P.D. overall,” adding that if there was “anything that needs to be reviewed, it will be.”
Wednesday capped a week that included violence between police and protesters, and widespread looting. It featured the local president of Black Lives Matters, Hawk Newsome, demanding Mr. de Blasio’s resignation, and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo mentioning his vested power to “displace” Mr. de Blasio.
Mr. Cuomo does not necessarily think that’s advisable, but a Republican councilman from southeastern Queens certainly does.
“I just woke up & NYC is still smoldering from civil unrest,” the councilman, Eric Ulrich, wrote on Twitter on Thursday morning. “@NYCMayor has lost control of the situation. Even some of his closest allies have abandoned ship. It’s time for @NYGovCuomo to step in & remove him from office.”
Mr. Ulrich said he would call for a vote of no confidence in the City Council.
“The most charitable assessment is that his mayoralty is currently on life support,” Neal Kwatra, a former adviser to both Mr. de Blasio and Mr. Cuomo, said in a text message.
The list of aides openly doubting the mayor’s leadership included several former top-level staffers who used to serve as proxies, and roughly 400 former and current staffers who have signed a public letter denouncing his approach to policing and demanding he cut Police Department funding.
The letter was galvanized by the images of police cruisers plowing into protesters on Saturday night.
“I would definitely say seeing the cop car and seeing the mayor’s response to it was very disappointing, just incredibly disappointing,” said Essence Franklin, 27, a former adviser in the mayor’s office for economic opportunity. “And to know there were literally people who used to work for the mayor’s office out there that night, who were in that area.”
Tensions worsened on Monday, when the first citywide curfew since World War II went into effect. Curfews are seen by law enforcement as options of last resort, to curb uncontrolled crime or violence. But they invariably lead to more confrontations between police and the communities they are supposed to serve, said Brian Higgins, the former police chief of Bergen County, N.J., who teaches emergency management at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
“What are the police supposed to say, ‘Pretty please?’” Professor Higgins asked. “No, there has to be some teeth behind it.” He added: “Now what we’re doing is forcing a conflict between the police and the public.”
The police’s attempt at enforcing the curfew led to the clashes cited by some of his former aides as they expressed their disappointment in Mr. de Blasio.
Maya Wiley, Mr. de Blasio’s former counsel, used Twitter to amplify videos of the police using force against protesters, suggesting that witnesses should file a complaint with the Civilian Complaint Review Board.
On Wednesday night, Jonathan Rosen, another former adviser to Mr. de Blasio, urged the MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell to ask the mayor about the “horrifying video” he was seeing from clashes between police and protesters in Brooklyn.
When another former aide, Eric Phillips, suggested Mr. Rosen was being unhelpful to the “cause and community,” Mr. Rosen returned fire, targeting Mr. Phillips’s tendency to use Twitter to write about his forays into cooking.
“I mean it ain’t witticisms about spice racks I’ll give you that much but what’s defending busting a few peaceful protesters’ heads,” Mr. Rosen tweeted.
It only escalated from there, with Mr. Phillips suggesting Mr. Rosen was only concerned with creating distance from Mr. de Blasio for the sake of his reputation.
The mayor said on Thursday that while he respected his former aides, he did not believe they had a comprehensive grasp of the situation.
“For anyone out there who is concerned or criticizing, I’m not sure they understand the depth of the reality of what we’ve faced,” Mr. de Blasio said. “We have to keep the peace. We have to keep order. We have to protect our democracy and our democratic rights. We’re striking that balance all the time.”
At the memorial service in Brooklyn, there was no shortage of people willing to criticize the mayor, from the audience and from the stage.
“We have the wrong president, the wrong governor and the wrong mayor for these times that we are in right now,” said the public advocate, Jumaane Williams.
The same energy that the mayor and governor have exerted in protecting property, Mr. Williams said, has not gone into protecting the lives of black people.
Mr. Williams was well received by those in attendance, as was the state attorney general, Letitia James. Even the mayor’s wife, Chirlane McCray, who was initially booed when introduced with the mayor, was allowed to speak without interruption. She spoke for twice as long as her husband.
“The mayor was there to pay his respects and listen,” his press secretary, Freddi Goldstein, said. “It doesn’t take much time to say, ‘We hear you and there will be change.’ That’s what he did.”
It was the mayor’s second public appearance in Brooklyn that day; he had first appeared at the news conference early Thursday outside the hospital, where the injured officers had been taken.
“This is a moment in our history we’ve got to support each other,” Mr. de Blasio said. “No matter what else is happening around us, we’ve got to support each other.”
Alan Feuer contributed reporting.
Jeffery C. Mays is a reporter on the Metro Desk who covers politics with a focus on New York City Hall. A native of Brooklyn, he is a graduate of Columbia University. @JeffCMays
Numerous protesters, including some at 50th Street and Third Avenue in Manhattan, were arrested on Wednesday after the 8 p.m. curfew.Credit...Todd Heisler/The New York Times
By Dana Rubinstein and Jeffery C. Mays
New York Times
June 4, 2020
In the first hours after the 8 p.m. curfew fell on New York City on Wednesday, clashes erupted between the police and protesters, including a melee in Downtown Brooklyn that was captured on camera and widely circulated on social media.
The widespread looting that had characterized some of the previous nights seemed to be under control, but the aggression displayed by the police against New Yorkers peacefully protesting the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis presented a fresh crisis for Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has praised the police for their “tremendous restraint” toward protesters.
Former allies denounced his leadership. New Yorkers called for the resignation of Mr. de Blasio and his police commissioner, Dermot F. Shea. Former aides bickered on Twitter about both his performance and whether their desire to distance themselves from the unpopular mayor was rooted in self-interest.
And when it seemed like Mr. de Blasio’s day could not get worse, an assailant stabbed a police officer in the neck, sparking a gunfight that left two additional officers wounded, and propelled the mayor to Kings County Hospital for an early-morning news conference on Thursday.
Mr. de Blasio is under siege, facing what may be the worst moment of his tenure since the 2014 fatal shootings of two police officers by a man seeking retribution for the police killing of Eric Garner on Staten Island.
The mayor’s appearance at a memorial for Mr. Floyd in Brooklyn on Thursday captured the depths of his unpopularity: He drew immediate jeers, despite pleas from one of the organizers, the Rev. Kevin McCall, to “respect George Floyd” and not boo. Instead, people turned their backs on the mayor and chanted “resign” and “I can’t breathe,” drowning out Mr. de Blasio’s roughly 90-second speech.
“George Floyd cannot be allowed to die in vain —” Crowd: “George Floyd! George Floyd!” [crowd chanting] “I thank you for being here … … let me tell you something: All of us who have not walked a mile in the shoes of the black community, communities of color, for all of us who know white privilege, we need do more because we don’t even fully recognize —” [crowd boos] Crowd: “George Floyd! George Floyd! George Floyd! George Floyd!”
The mayor is also still grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed more than 21,000 deaths in New York City and has had a profound effect on the city’s economy and municipal budget. Mr. de Blasio said in an interview on MSNBC on Wednesday night that the protests over Mr. Floyd’s death had created “a perfect storm wrapped in another perfect storm.”
Mr. de Blasio said he had yet to see any of the footage showing police officers using batons on protesters, but he defended the overall police response and how the curfew was enforced.
“I am the duly elected mayor, I have put this curfew in place,” he said at his daily briefing.
“In the context of crisis, in the context of curfew, there is a point where enough is enough,” the mayor added. “If officers say now is the point we need you to go home, it’s time to go home.”
He said he saw a “lot of restraint from the N.Y.P.D. overall,” adding that if there was “anything that needs to be reviewed, it will be.”
Wednesday capped a week that included violence between police and protesters, and widespread looting. It featured the local president of Black Lives Matters, Hawk Newsome, demanding Mr. de Blasio’s resignation, and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo mentioning his vested power to “displace” Mr. de Blasio.
Mr. Cuomo does not necessarily think that’s advisable, but a Republican councilman from southeastern Queens certainly does.
“I just woke up & NYC is still smoldering from civil unrest,” the councilman, Eric Ulrich, wrote on Twitter on Thursday morning. “@NYCMayor has lost control of the situation. Even some of his closest allies have abandoned ship. It’s time for @NYGovCuomo to step in & remove him from office.”
Mr. Ulrich said he would call for a vote of no confidence in the City Council.
“The most charitable assessment is that his mayoralty is currently on life support,” Neal Kwatra, a former adviser to both Mr. de Blasio and Mr. Cuomo, said in a text message.
The list of aides openly doubting the mayor’s leadership included several former top-level staffers who used to serve as proxies, and roughly 400 former and current staffers who have signed a public letter denouncing his approach to policing and demanding he cut Police Department funding.
The letter was galvanized by the images of police cruisers plowing into protesters on Saturday night.
“I would definitely say seeing the cop car and seeing the mayor’s response to it was very disappointing, just incredibly disappointing,” said Essence Franklin, 27, a former adviser in the mayor’s office for economic opportunity. “And to know there were literally people who used to work for the mayor’s office out there that night, who were in that area.”
Tensions worsened on Monday, when the first citywide curfew since World War II went into effect. Curfews are seen by law enforcement as options of last resort, to curb uncontrolled crime or violence. But they invariably lead to more confrontations between police and the communities they are supposed to serve, said Brian Higgins, the former police chief of Bergen County, N.J., who teaches emergency management at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
“What are the police supposed to say, ‘Pretty please?’” Professor Higgins asked. “No, there has to be some teeth behind it.” He added: “Now what we’re doing is forcing a conflict between the police and the public.”
The police’s attempt at enforcing the curfew led to the clashes cited by some of his former aides as they expressed their disappointment in Mr. de Blasio.
Maya Wiley, Mr. de Blasio’s former counsel, used Twitter to amplify videos of the police using force against protesters, suggesting that witnesses should file a complaint with the Civilian Complaint Review Board.
On Wednesday night, Jonathan Rosen, another former adviser to Mr. de Blasio, urged the MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell to ask the mayor about the “horrifying video” he was seeing from clashes between police and protesters in Brooklyn.
When another former aide, Eric Phillips, suggested Mr. Rosen was being unhelpful to the “cause and community,” Mr. Rosen returned fire, targeting Mr. Phillips’s tendency to use Twitter to write about his forays into cooking.
“I mean it ain’t witticisms about spice racks I’ll give you that much but what’s defending busting a few peaceful protesters’ heads,” Mr. Rosen tweeted.
It only escalated from there, with Mr. Phillips suggesting Mr. Rosen was only concerned with creating distance from Mr. de Blasio for the sake of his reputation.
The mayor said on Thursday that while he respected his former aides, he did not believe they had a comprehensive grasp of the situation.
“For anyone out there who is concerned or criticizing, I’m not sure they understand the depth of the reality of what we’ve faced,” Mr. de Blasio said. “We have to keep the peace. We have to keep order. We have to protect our democracy and our democratic rights. We’re striking that balance all the time.”
At the memorial service in Brooklyn, there was no shortage of people willing to criticize the mayor, from the audience and from the stage.
“We have the wrong president, the wrong governor and the wrong mayor for these times that we are in right now,” said the public advocate, Jumaane Williams.
The same energy that the mayor and governor have exerted in protecting property, Mr. Williams said, has not gone into protecting the lives of black people.
Mr. Williams was well received by those in attendance, as was the state attorney general, Letitia James. Even the mayor’s wife, Chirlane McCray, who was initially booed when introduced with the mayor, was allowed to speak without interruption. She spoke for twice as long as her husband.
“The mayor was there to pay his respects and listen,” his press secretary, Freddi Goldstein, said. “It doesn’t take much time to say, ‘We hear you and there will be change.’ That’s what he did.”
It was the mayor’s second public appearance in Brooklyn that day; he had first appeared at the news conference early Thursday outside the hospital, where the injured officers had been taken.
“This is a moment in our history we’ve got to support each other,” Mr. de Blasio said. “No matter what else is happening around us, we’ve got to support each other.”
Alan Feuer contributed reporting.
Jeffery C. Mays is a reporter on the Metro Desk who covers politics with a focus on New York City Hall. A native of Brooklyn, he is a graduate of Columbia University. @JeffCMays
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