New York, NY – On March 4, a dozen activists rallied across from the 79th New York Police Department Precinct building in Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn to condemn the harassment and mistreatment of the Bed-Stuy community at the hands of the precinct cops. The protest also marked the launch of the New York Community Action Project’s (NYCAP) campaign to fire abusive cops across the city.

The rally began with the emcee welcoming everyone who had come out and leading the crowd in energetically chanting, “The violence needs to stop! Fire bad cops!”

Speaking on the racist and criminal behavior of the NYPD across New York City, Lee Dynes from NYCAP cited the NYPD’s own recently released use of force report, stating, “In 2021, in New York City, 95% of the people that cops shot at were Black or Latino. The NYPD brutalizes us and our communities, and it is only getting worse.”

As the protesters chanted and held signs calling out specific officers at the 79th Precinct with records of racist and oppressive violence, the rally immediately drew vocal support from the neighborhood, with pedestrians and drivers in nearby traffic sharing their own experiences with the 79th Precinct and accusing the officers there of being “crooks.”

Shivani Ishwar of NYCAP addressed the 79th Precinct specifically, which received 74 complaints against its officers in 2022 alone, stating,. “Over half of the complaints to this precinct are about corrupt cops using violence against the people of this neighborhood.”

Ishwar continued by naming specific officers with the most egregious records including Emilio Ortega, Larry Meyers and James Hart. All of the officers named continue to pull six-figure salaries from the city, despite the numerous complaints accusing them of abuse of authority, violence against the community, and use of racial slurs. As Ishwar named each officer, the crowd chanted “Fire abusive cops!”

Although this rally focused on the behavior of the 79th Precinct, racist violent behavior is standard practice across the NYPD. The final speech of the rally, from NYCAP member Anevay Zapata, described how “the NYPD gets away with literal murder,” but concluded by offering a path forward through NYCAP’s campaign for community control of the police. “New York is my home,” Zapata said, “and I know that we deserve better. We all know that we deserve better than to be terrorized in this police state. CPAC now!”

The New York Community Action project will be holding their next rally in celebration of International Women’s Day, to discuss the role that police play in the repression of women and reproductive rights. The speak out will be at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on March 11 at 3:00 p.m.

#NewYorkNY #PoliceBrutality #NewYorkCommunityActionProjectNYCAP #StopPoliceCrimes

New York, NY – The New York Community Action Project held a speakout on Saturday, February 11, at Herbert Von King Park in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn. The speakout was to mark the police murders of Tyre Nichols and Manny Paez. Nichols was murdered in Memphis during a traffic stop, while Paez was killed by police while defending the land in Atlanta from the development of a police facility known as “Cop City.”

Speakers addressed both deaths, as well as local New York police crime cases, and the need for community control of the police to better hold the police accountable for killing people.

Along with speeches, the group led chants about the NYPD and community control, while educating people walking by about the campaign for a civilian police accountability council.

The New York Community Action Project – NYCAP – will be holding their next rally, “The Many Crimes of the 79th Precinct”, to raise awareness about the abuses by and complaints made against various officers in the neighborhood. The action will be on Saturday, March 4, at 3 p.m. at Herbert Von King Park.

#NewYorkNY #PoliceBrutality #NewYorkCommunityActionProjectNYCAP #StopPoliceCrimes

New York, NY – Around two dozen organizers and community members gathered in front of New York City Hall, the office of Mayor Eric Adams, to host a No Cops in Power rally.

The protest was organized by the New York Community Action Project (NYCAP) – an affiliate of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression – to call attention and protest how Mayor Adams continues to funnel money into the bloated $6 billion NYPD budget and away from social programs. Adams, who used to be a police officer, took office in in January 2022 and has quickly passed anti-people policies, from organized violent sweeps of the houseless population to being pro-Act 60. Act 60 provides tax exemptions to businesses and investors that relocate to and/or establish themselves in Puerto Rico.

The rally began with Jessica Schwartz, a member of NYCAP, leading people into chants that ranged from “One, two, three four – police crimes no more! Five, six, seven eight – Eric Adams wants a police state!” to a New York City favorite, “How do you spell racist?! N-Y-P-D!”

Schwartz gave background on why they were rallying on that day and introduced the first speaker, Collin Poirot, another member of NYCAP, who gave a background on the many crimes the NYPD has committed here in New York.

The organizations that spoke out were: Socialist Unity, Southern Solidarity, Justice for Domonique Alexander, and NY Boricua Resistance.

The action was closed out by Sharif Hall, a member of NYCAP. He began his rousing speech by elaborating on what it means to have true community control of the police and finished by the speech by saying, “We know that we will never be free until we have the power, the power to take control over our communities!”

NYCAP will be hosting a Community Safety training on Saturday, October 15 to follow up from the rally and will continue to protest against Mayor Adams and the NYPD.

#NewYorkNY #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #NewYorkCommunityActionProjectNYCAP

The speak-out was organized by the New York Community Action Project (NYCAP) and took place in Herbert Von King Park, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. The speakers discussed the recent police murder of Jayland Walker, in Ohio, and also raised awareness about local victims of police violence in New York, such as Sofia Gomez, Ronald Anthony Smith and Allan Feliz.

“Although the police are already attempting to smear Jayland and cast him as deserving of such horrific violence, we condemn this as just another of the tactics that the police employ to justify their brutality,” said Briony Morgan, a member of NYCAP.

“Some of you may have heard about Ronald Anthony Smith, an African American man who was killed this April by an NYPD officer recklessly driving a police van in Crown Heights, hitting him by driving over a median. In 2020, a similar case happened, when NYPD officers in the Bronx sped through a red light, killing Sofia Gomez Aguilon, who had just moved here from Guatemala. In another instance in the Bronx in 2019, Allan Feliz was shot at point blank range during what should have been a routine traffic stop. Why is the NYPD so negligent and outright abusive toward people? It’s because their job isn’t to serve and protect the people, but to keep us scared of their power through intimidation and murder,” added another NYCAP member, Jessica Schwartz.

The organizers handed out flyers explaining their ongoing campaign for community control over the police, and highlighting the failures of police accountability in NYC.

#BrooklynNY #PoliceBrutality #PoliceCrimes #NewYorkCommunityActionProjectNYCAP #JaylandWalker

New York, NY – Starting the morning of Monday, May 9, Filipinos and allies across the tri-state area began hosting a vigil outside of the Consulate General of the Philippines. They committed to stay until the results of a historic election were announced.

The Northeast Vigil for Democracy was one of dozens across the U.S. calling for a fair election as Filipinos voted for a variety of different positions. All eyes are on the presidency as two main candidates fight it out – Bongbong Marcos and Leni Robredo. While Marcos ran on a robust social media campaign based on rewriting history of his family, Robredo brought forward the people in effort to affect positive change.

At 7 p.m. that day, a rally began with close to 100 protesters. Speakers from different organizations, such as BAYAN, Malaya, Anakbayan, and others spoke about the meaning of this election, and why it was important that all voted. A few of the speakers emphasized how this was an avenue to explore when it came to change, but regardless of the results it was important to continue organizing.

Jessica Schwartz from the New York Community Action Project gave a speech in solidarity, stating, “That is why those of us fighting against the police here must also stand with the national democratic movement of the Philippines. We have a shared interest in the overthrow of U.S. imperialism and freedom for the Philippines and all nations facing violence by the U.S. government. None of us will be free until all of us are free. Long live international solidarity!”

The rally ended in high spirits as protesters set up to keep vigil overnight.

Unfortunately, in the morning hours, the results showed that Marcos, who is guilty of massive election fraud, had won. However, this didn’t deter the protesters from keeping vigil outside of the consulate. They are currently still protesting and calling for justice and democracy.

#NewYorkNY #Philippines #BAYAN #ANAKBAYAN #NewYorkCommunityActionProjectNYCAP #Asia

New York, NY – Members of New York Community Action Project (NYCAP) gathered on the cold and windy Sunday, March 13, after International Women’s Day, to speak out and protest the New York Police Department’s treatment of women in New York.

Jessica Schwartz told the crowd, “On a national level, police families face two to four times more prevalent instances of violence. A report from 2019 that reviewed the NYPD’s disciplinary practices showed that cops are more lenient toward cops who commit domestic violence. In fact, officers received more severe punishment for ‘discourtesy to a commanding officer’ than for committing physical violence against a child or spouse. The fact is that despite claiming to ‘serve and protect’ the people of New York, the NYPD really serves to protect their own first and foremost, even when they are blatantly abusing women.”

Schwartz was followed by other NYCAP members who each brought up different aspects of the NYPD’s brutality against women and oppressed genders. From talking about Sofia Gomez, an immigrant woman murdered by the NYPD as she was walking home from work, to Layleen Polanco, a 27-year-old transgender woman of color, who died in solitary confinement at Rikers Island. Speakers also brought up Breonna Taylor as the event came on the heels of the acquittal of the officers involved in her murder.

The speakout ended with the members talking about their campaign for community control of the police, and the next steps on how to wage this current struggle against the NYPD’s rampant violence.

#NewYorkNY #WomensMovement #PoliceBrutality #NewYorkCommunityActionProjectNYCAP

New York, NY – Members of the New York Community Action Project (NYCAP) gathered on the afternoon of Saturday, February 26 to speak out against Mayor Eric Adams’ Blueprint to End Gun Violence proposal.

Adams released this proposal late last month and has already received criticism from the progressive movements in New York. The Blueprint is a general plan for how Adams plans on tackling various problems in New York. He believes that a falling infrastructure, homelessness, a badly managed public transportation system and joblessness all come down to one thing: gun violence.

Gun violence is on the rise in the city and it’s a symptom of a much larger problem – not the cause. Residents of the different boroughs have been very loud and clear about what’s hurting this city, and gun violence is not at the top of the list.

Adams’ proposal calls for: placing more officers in neighborhoods are already affected by over-policing, tightening the relationship between the NYPD and state police, using technology to identify individuals before they commit crimes, growing a stronger relationship with the ATF and the FBI, empowering business and churches to give information to the NYPD through the use of surveillance, prosecuting 16 and 17-