Community Groups Decry Escalating Low-Level Arrests Targeting People of Color Under Mayor Mamdani

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 arraignment shifts across the five boroughs. The action was timed with Black August to illuminate the way low-level, quality of life enforcement arrests are continuing to harm Black, Latine, and low-income New Yorkers. Highlighting the data they collected, the groups called on Mayor Mamdani to deliver the new approach to community safety that he promised during his campaign. 

“Our observations of court arraignments this week proved what our members from Black and Brown communities are continuing to experience -  hyper-policing, over-criminalization and incarceration,” said Darren Mack, Co-Director of Freedom Agenda. “The false promise that Broken Windows Policing leads to community safety has been debunked over a decade ago. What it has resulted in is low level arrests flooding the courts, New Yorkers' lives being disrupted, and families being separated. Arrests skyrocketed during the Adams administration and remain high under the Mamdani administration, which has promised to transition from the status quo and lead into a new direction. Ending Broken Windows Policing is a necessary step in that direction.” 

The groups viewed over 370 arraignments across four days and noted that 93% of people arraigned appeared to be people of color, with Black New Yorkers making up a staggering 57%. In over 50 instances, defense attorneys said their clients were struggling with mental health needs, substance use disorders, or housing instability. Fifty-eight percent of arraignments observed were for misdemeanor charges, including at least 137 for the lowest-level accusations like petty larceny and minor drug possession, in which police could have instead issued a desk appearance ticket. In fact, only 84 of the 377 arraignments observed were for felony charges that would not qualify for a desk appearance ticket.

Beyond data collection, the groups said they hoped that by having a presence in court they would be able to remind the NYPD, along with judges and district attorneys, that New Yorkers are watching them.

Under the Mamdani administration, arrests for low-level issues like taking up two seats on the subway have remained high, or even increased, despite campaign promises to focus police resources on serious crime. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch began the quality of life offense crackdown under former Mayor Eric Adams, expanding police duties to “non-criminal, non-emergency issues” such as responding to 311 complaints, and has further escalated the arrests under the current administration. 

“What was saw this week make clear is that - no matter what NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch wants us to believe - broken windows policing is out of control in this city and it is causing immeasurable harm to Black, Latine, and working class New Yorkers,” said Samy Feliz, Organizer at Justice Committee, and brother of Allan Feliz, who was killed by NYPD in 2019. “Mayor Mamdani was elected on a promise of making New York a livable city for all. Ending the criminalization of poverty, mental health, substance use, and homelessness is not separate from that promise - it’s essential to it. We’re calling on him to follow through on the vision for real safety that his campaign promised by ending broken windows policing, removing NYPD from social service roles, and investing in housing, services and care, not cops.”

“Broken windows policing isn't effective and doesn’t make us safer. ” said Council Member Sandy Nurse. “New Yorkers are ready for a new era of community safety that doesn’t criminalize poor Black and Brown New Yorkers. I stand with advocates and New Yorkers harmed by that disastrous policing era in demanding the NYPD stop low-level arrests and end broken windows policing. 

“New Yorkers should not be arrested, jailed, and dragged through the criminal legal system simply because they are poor, unhoused, struggling with mental health or substance use, or engaging in conduct that poses no genuine threat to public safety,” said Amanda Jack, Director of Policy with Criminal Law Reform at The Legal Aid Society. “Broken Windows policing has always fallen hardest on Black and brown New Yorkers, and what we see every day in arraignments shows the real human cost of continuing this failed approach. Mayor Mamdani campaigned on a different vision for community safety, and his administration must make good on that promise by ending the criminalization of poverty and directing resources away from police encounters and toward housing, community-based treatment, services, and other investments that actually keep communities safe.” 

“So many New Yorkers want issues in their communities addressed. We don’t want people to have to sleep on the trains, they should be housed, we don’t want family members to be in conflict. But if you spend a couple hours in criminal court you can’t help but understand that putting the police, jails and the court system onto these issues is not an effective government intervention into actually addressing these issues. In many cases it makes things worse,” said Nick Encalada-Malinowski, organizer at VOCAL-NY.

"What we observed in arraignment courts across the city this week is a racial equity issue that must be met with expanded services to prevent, intervene, and provide care for people," said Maya Williams, Senior Director of Research and Policy at the NYC Commission on Racial Equity. “Black, poor, low-income New Yorkers are being arrested for low-level offenses coupled with high bail amounts which undermine community safety and family well-being. The system continues to criminalize poverty and punish people who need services rooted in care, dignity, and racial equity."

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