New York, NY – Members of the New York Community Action Project (NYCAP) joined with organizations from across the city, September 13 to officially launch a campaign for a Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC) in NYC. The launch of a CPAC campaign in the five boroughs follows on the heels of similar campaigns across the country, in cities like Chicago, Milwaukee, Dallas and Jacksonville.

As a community organization based in the South Bronx, NYCAP began raising the demand for a CPAC in New York after members of the organization attended the re-founding conference of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NARAPR) last year.

One important lesson that the New York Community Action Project members took away from the NARAPR conference is that CPAC offers a winnable, concrete demand that can unite as many people as possible – whether they be abolitionists, people who want to defund the police, or simply people who want the cops to do their jobs better and stop profiling them. All of these changes become possible in a world where the people have real power over the police, from their budget and training all the way to the equipment they carry and the discipline they face.

Today’s meeting also marked the creation of the New York City Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NYAARPR), a New York City affiliate to the National Alliance. NYCAP hopes that the NYAARPR can provide a way for organizations and communities in the five boroughs to unite in support of the demand for a CPAC in New York City, and also give us a way to organize in support of the days of action called for by the National Alliance.

Participating in the National Alliance’s days of action is a crucial way to spread the conversation around community control nationwide, and one of the first steps the New York City Alliance is taking as a coalition is to build for the national day of action on September 19. The national day of action is not only raising the demand for community control of the police, but is also demanding justice for recent victims of police murders including Breonna Taylor, Daniel Prude, Jacob Blake, Miguel Vega and Trayford Pellerin, and the withdrawal of federal troops and agents from our communities, where they have been sent to suppress the people’s righteous uprisings for justice.

If you are an individual in NYC and want to help fight for a CPAC while also supporting the National Alliance, join NYCAP today. On the other hand, if you’re already in an organization and want to support the National Alliance and to support NYCAP’s CPAC campaign, join the New York City Alliance (NYAARPR) by emailing us at [email protected].

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