The Interfaith Center of New York (ICNY) approves Mayor Bill de Blasio’s outreach to religious leaders as a way to “heal and deepen the relationship between police and community” in the wake of the chokehold death of Eric Garner in Staten Island. We applaud senior religious leaders for coming together for dialogue at this critical moment. We also recognize grassroots leaders of diverse faiths in addition to Abrahamic traditions, as well as women religious leaders, for the contributions they make on a daily basis to maintaining peaceful co-existence in their neighborhoods.
ICNY has a strong history of connecting grassroots religious leaders of sixteen traditions to secular organizations and governmental agencies including the Police Department. Our relationship with NYPD began with the expansion of the Clergy Liaison program to underrepresented faith groups, in which ICNY served as an informal advisor to introduce key clergy and community leaders from minority religions to the Police Department. Over the years, we have invited NYPD representatives to speak to religious leaders on a variety of topics including domestic violence, hate crimes, and immigration. Last year, in the backdrop of controversies over stop & frisk and Muslim community surveillance, ICNY convened a conference to address police-community relations, ease tensions and increase mutual understanding (see our detailed conference Report). More recently, we referred religious leaders for Operation Impact, a program that pairs new patrol officers with senior police officers and community leaders to help them learn the neighborhoods in high crime zones.
ICNY welcomes the opportunity to serve as a resource as the de Blasio Administration crafts a “purposeful and consistent effort” to work with religious leaders to “help save lives, and send a message of peace and reconciliation all over this city.”
