The Interfaith Center of New York welcomes yesterday’s news that Speaker Christine Quinn has reached a “broad agreement” with the sponsors of the Inspector General legislation that would introduce an important mechanism for oversight of the New York Police Department, and that City Council is “moving forward in a constructive fashion with the Community Safety Act, including a measure to stop racial profiling.”
This legislation begins the process of rebuilding trust between the NYPD and religious and other minorities who are as interested as any other New Yorkers in a city free from violence and terror. We join the Bill’s supporters and religious leaders of many backgrounds in noting, as its sponsors Council Members Brad Lander and Jumaane Williams have said, “Good progress has been made on the NYPD Inspector General bill, and we are confident that a broad package of meaningful reforms that protect New Yorkers from discriminatory policing will ultimately be passed by this City Council.”
The Interfaith Center of New York looks forward to hearing more about the positive steps forward that the Speaker and others are taking on the full Community Safety Act. We also look forward to furthering dialogue on the subject of Police Community Relations from an interfaith and international perspective at our upcoming Rabbi Marshall Meyer Retreat on June 12-13th at Stony Point Retreat Center. For more information contact, Dr. Sarah Sayeed at ssayeed@interfaithcenter.org.
