#propnyc

[propnyc]

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/will-brattons-resignation-make-any-difference-broken-windows-quotas-discriminate

[propnyc]

“Mr. Gangi and other advocates of police reform (a term that has become synonymous with opposition to broken-windows) say enforcement targets the poor and minorities for offenses that have been essentially decriminalized in wealthy, white areas and to which most New Yorkers are indifferent. Mr. Gangi said that the problem of arrests of people of color for marginal offenses has continued under Mr. Bratton.”

[propnyc]

Minorities make up 90% of NYC misdemeanor arrests: report

Nearly 90% of those arrested in the city on misdemeanor charges over a three-month period were minorities, according to a watchdog group.

[propnyc]

They Wear Blue

The mothers come here with dreams, and their children, the glow of their color like honey on shades of silt, sand, and clay.

I can hear it still now, my neighbor pleading to her boy Be honest, be brave; be kind, be strong, be humble. Call me if anything goes wrong You’re the only you I have

They come here with Glock 19s wearing blue. Following orders, I’m just following orders,

My neighbor’s boy repeats a mantra

Damn the void of the cop car sirens: the grief they bring, The ruckus that ensues: the stillness of the block after,

That day We shoot the American dream between our jump shots And right hand lay ups, He free throws me the beauty of the ghetto, and we Blue and purple bruises together, knees smart on asphalt together,

and We heard them even before they came, My neighbor’s boy crosses the court, We hear the fear, the confrontation, the shuffle, and the wound In succession.

We see his body disappear, consumed by the blue.

Glory be to my neighbor who comes home to her roots gone, Her wails playing a tune to something like the Star Spangled Banner.

- Maesha Meto