Last night, in a historic City Council session, we not only adopted the Fiscal Year 2014 budget (more on that soon!) and overrode a mayoral veto on the Earned Sick Time Act, but we also passed the Community Safety Act with a veto proof majority. In a meeting that extended past 2:00 a.m., legislation that would create an Inspector General for the NYPD and add teeth to the city’s ban on bias-based profiling, passed with the 34 votes needed to override the mayor’s expected veto. Melissa joined lead sponsors Council Members Jumaane Williams and Brad Lander in co-sponsoring both pieces of legislation.
These bills came out of a sustained grassroots movement in response to the city’s overzealous stop and frisk policy, and could help make a real difference in combating unjust police practices at a more systemic level.
