New Yorkers protest new NYPD ‘Quality of Life’ division

New York, NY – On Friday, February 7, protesters gathered at City Hall facing 1 Police Plaza to protest the new NYPD Quality of Life Division. The creation of this division comes on the heels of cop-Mayor Eric Adams installing officers on every overnight train.

The Quality of Life Division targets poor and working-class New Yorkers. Officers in the division will go after panhandlers, public urination, those sleeping on the train, street vending, and other forms of “broken window” policing. The primary issue with this division is that it doesn’t address the underlying issues that cause people to resort to these actions.

As we enter 2025, we’re seeing the subway fare rising. The public restrooms are either closed or in horrid disrepair. Programs for homeless or poor New Yorkers are getting cut, and they can’t get the necessary assistance. This means that people are resorting to the last possible options to try to live.

The New York Alliance Against Racist Political Repression (NYAARPR) called for this protest as it aligns with their Cops Off the Subway campaign.

Daniel Koh, the secretary of NYAARPR, said in his opening remarks, “These policies harass the most vulnerable New Yorkers in the name of safety, but we know that safety does not come from criminalization. It does not come from more police. We, the New York Alliance, condemn this unwarranted and unwanted increase in policing. We demand the removal of cops from stations, subways and buses.”

Koh introduced a series of speakers from NYAARPR who helped give a rounded analysis on the issue.

Briony Smith, the Community Education Chair of NYAARPR, said in their speech, “They’re not interested in the quality of life of people who are poor, who are homeless, who are Black, who are brown, who are not the rich, the white, the powerful, that the NYPD serves.”

Protesters asked, “What about the quality of life of Debrina Kawam?” Kawam was burned alive while sleeping on the subway this past December. The cops walked past her while she burned and did nothing.

Broken windows policing has been tried before, and it doesn’t work. Going after small crimes does not stop the big ones. All it does is increase the police presence, the surveillance, the harassment, and the arrests of Black, brown, and poor people.

Koh closed the rally with a call to action to not only support the Cops Off the Subway campaign, but to also attend the upcoming Justice for Eudes Pierre event, March 1 in Crown Heights.

#NewYorkNY #NY #InJusticeSystem #NAARPR #NYAARPR