Iris was THE OG—the matriarch to families whose loved ones were murdered by police, not just in NYC but across the country and around the world. For over 3 decades, she never gave up the fight against police violence and brutality. While this is devastating news, we know she's being welcomed by the ancestors. Iris’s son #AnthonyBaez was killed by NYPD Officer Francis Livot in 1994 with an already-banned chokehold – 20 years before #EricGarner was killed in the same way. Antho

Part of the Meeting the Moment compilation, curated by Building Beyond Policing and Democratizing Justice Initiative. Read the entire issue: As the United States careens toward authoritarianism, the role of law enforcement as an enforcer of a specific political agenda — backed by ever-expanding powers, funding, militarization, and surveillance infrastructure — has never been clearer. But this ominous trend is not limited to federal law enforcement under the Trump regime; it m

By Ben Feuerherd in Gothamist Aug 13, 2026 Elected officials and police reform advocates on Thursday called on Mayor Zohran Mamdani to rein in what they call a continuation of broken windows policing under his administration, after they watched criminal court arraignments across the city over several days this week. City Councilmember Sandy Nurse joined the advocates in front of Manhattan Supreme Court on Centre Street, and said she would keep the pressure on City Hall to ena

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, August 13, 2026 Community Groups Decry Escalating Low-Level Arrests Targeting People of Color Under Mayor Mamdani Advocates call for an end to harmful Broken Windows Policing, which has continued to intensify in 2026 New York – On Thursday, community groups, among them Court Watch NYC, Drug Policy Alliance, Freedom Agenda, Justice Committee, The Legal Aid Society, SURJ NYC, VOCAL-NY and others, released data from a week of observing arraignmen

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, June 30, 2026 Defeat of Proposed NYPD Headcount Increase is a Victory for New Yorkers Justice Committee responds to removal of proposed 580 new cops in FY27 budget deal Today, the New York City Council and Mayor Mamdani reached a handshake agreement on the FY27 city budget. In a major movement victory, championed by a large coalition of grassroots, legal, advocacy and civil rights organizations New Yorkers, the agreement does not include any exp

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, June 25, 2026 70 Organizations Deliver Letter to Mayor Mamdani: Reject NYPD Expansion, Invest in Care Days before budget deadline, groups, electeds, and community members urge Mayor to deliver on his campaign promises & public safety vision New York, NY – In a show of widespread, unified opposition to the direction of the Mamdani administration's public safety policy, 70 organizations delivered a letter to the mayor today, urging his him to re

By Liam Quigley and Elizabeth Kim Dozens of community groups sent Mayor Zohran Mamdani a letter on Thursday calling for him to scale back the NYPD’s crackdown on low-level offenses. The groups, largely made up of criminal justice advocates, criticized Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch’s focus on “quality of life” arrests, arguing the approach criminalizes poverty. The letter also called on Mamdani to halt plans to hire 580 new police officers, and said the money should instea

June 2026 Mayor Zohran Mamdani City Hall New York, NY 10007 Cc: First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan, Deputy Mayor of Community Safety Renita Francois, Office of Community Safety Commissioner Ayesha Delany-Brumsey, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch Subject: Opposition to NYPD Headcount Increase and Expansion of Broken Windows Policing Dear Mayor Mamdani, Your election as mayor gave us hope for a genuine break from the failed policing-first approach that has criminalized our communi