THE CO U N CIL O F

THE

CITY

OF

N EW YO RK
FERNANDO CABRERA th 1 4 District Bronx Co-Chair

BLA CK, LA TIN O

ROBERT J ACKSON th 7 District Manhattan Co-Chair
J UMAANE D. WILLIAMS TH 45 District Brooklyn Co-Vice Chair SARA GONZALEZ TH 38 District Brooklyn Co-Vice Chair MARGARET CHIN ST 1 District - Manhattan Secretary RUBEN WILLS TH 28 District Q ueens Treasurer MARIA DEL CARMEN ARROYO 1 7th District Bronx Ex-officio Past Chair HELEN DIANE FOSTER 1 6TH District Bronx Ex-officio Past Chair CHARLES BARRON 42ND District Brooklyn LEROY COMRIE 27TH District Q ueens INEZ E. DICKENS 9TH District - Manhattan MATHIEU EUGENE 40 TH District Brooklyn J ULISSA FERRERAS TH 21 District - Q ueens LETITIA J AMES 35TH District Brooklyn ANDY KING 1 2th District Bronx PETER KOO 20 TH District - Q ueens MELISSA MARK-VIVERITO 8TH District Manhattan ERIK MARTIN-DILAN 37TH District Brooklyn DARLENE MEALY ST 41 District - Brooklyn ROSIE MENDEZ 2ND District Manhattan ANNABEL PALMA 1 8TH District Bronx DIANA REYNA 34 TH District Brooklyn DONOVAN RICHARDS st 31 District Queens J OEL RIVERA 1 5TH District Bronx YDANIS RODRIGUEZ 1 0 TH District Manhattan DEBORAH ROSE 49TH District Staten Island ALBERT VANN 36TH District Brooklyn ALEXANDER RIAS Director of BLAC Affairs

AND

A SIA N CA U CU S

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

CONTACT: Alex Rias, Director of the BLA Caucus ARias@council.nyc.gov

October 31, 2013

BACK TO SQUARE ONE: BLAC MEMBERS DISAPPOINTED BY COURT-APPROVED STAY AGAINST STOP AND FRISK RULING

New York, NY Today, after years of an unjustly applied practice, after the countless voices and stories of abuse, after years of trial, and finally after a court decision was made and a plan for remedies laid out to bring justice to this issue, now federal courts grant a stay on the legal orders issued to reign in on stop, question and frisk. Make no mistake about it: members of the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus (BLAC) of the New York City Council are utterly dismayed that this legal process will be delayed further by bringing us back to square one! Lets be clear here: The 8,000 pages of evidence provided by the plaintiffs are sound and meaningful. With that much compelling evidence, it is startling to know that the federal courts decision to delay progress on this issue was made without first reviewing this mountain of evidence. The courts are pushing the clock to later, when the time is and has always been now. Now, the court-appointed monitor, who was tasked with reviewing the constitutionality of stop, question, and frisk, will have to stop his work. Now, the remedies that could better-direct the practice of stop, question and frisk and more effectively protect our city will be delayed, or scrapped altogether. And now, those who have used their collective voices to tell the countless stories of misuse of this policing tactic will have justice delayed further. This is a very disappointing turn of events, as we are forced to await the selection of a new judge, and the beginning of a new schedule of court dates. What are we left with on the streets that we represent, and the residents that we aim to protect? When will the time be to do whats right if it is not now? The eyes of this city, this state, this country, and the world will be watching this case now.

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