Look in the Mirror

“The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars, but in ourselves.”  So said Cassius in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.

Our demise is not fated, it is caused by our actions.

This past week, I’ve thought a lot about what is taking place in our beloved  city.  

My heart broke for the family of Michelle Go, pushed to her death from a Times Square subway platform by a deranged homeless man. I prayed for the recovery of the 11-month old girl from the Bronx who was shot in the face by a stray bullet.  And I have no words for the cold-blooded murder of 22-year old NYPD Officer Jason Rivera by a parolee with a military grade weapon.

How did this city plummet so deep into lawlessness, violence and fear?

Look in the mirror.

Eight years ago, we the people elected a man who told us straight out what he was all about.  In his victory speech, Bill Deblasio said: “Make no mistake, the people of this city have chosen a progressive path…My fellow New Yorkers, today you spoke out loudly and clearly for a new direction for our city.”  

Eight years later we are paying the price for our choice.

In 2019, we elected representatives to the New York State Legislature and they made radical changes to the bail law.  Who gave the Democrats control and put Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie in power?  We did.  Now we are paying the price for our choices.

In November, we elected Alvin Bragg as Manhattan D.A.  In his election night victory speech, Bragg said: “I know how to get to true public safety.  And I can assure folks that arresting people for things that have absolutely nothing to do with public safety do not make it safer.”

Then we got the manifesto to his staff (you can read in full on this website) and we are shocked.  Now we are paying the price for our choice.

When bail reform was passed in Albany, Speaker Heastie said: “The Assembly Majority is committed to making sure every New Yorker is treated fairly by our criminal justice system.”  

What about law abiding citizens?  Don’t we deserve to be afforded the right to safety by the Assembly Majority?  Why do we need to live in fear?  

(An analysis by The City, a nonpartisan, nonprofit digital news platform, debunked the claim that only a small number of lawbreakers freed under supervised release were rearrested.  Supervised release means people arrested and charged for crimes are let go and monitored by social workers to make sure they return for their court appearances.  Out of those 40 percent who were rearrested, 6.5% were for violent felonies.) 

Let’s not forget these elected representatives serve at our behest.  Just as we have bestowed authority on them through the electoral process, we can use that same system to take it away.

A politician has no greater fear than losing her/his position of power.  

Now it’s time to raise hell!  Tell them our city is sinking into the abyss.  Tell them they are complicit and they must come to our rescue.  

Get behind Mayor Adams and NYPD Commissioner Sewell to pressure Governor Hochul to reform bail reform.

Tell your City Council members who want to defund the police that we will defund them in the next election!  

Every voter in New York has the power to pressure for change.

To rewrite Shakespeare is blasphemy, but what if Cassius had said, the “The fault of inaction dear Brutus, lies not in our stars but in ourselves”?

Look in the mirror and remember: your influence counts!  Use it!