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New York (77WABC) – Manhattan District Attorney candidate Liz Crotty was endorsed by NYPD unions in a press conference Thursday, calling for a change in bail reform policies and the diminishing of police authority.
The endorsement comes after curfews and other regulations were placed in Washington Square Park where there were instances of nightly disturbances, drawing the ire of many of the area’s residents.
“When the same people are arrested again and again with no consequences except a desk appearance ticket and quick release, we see the results on a park riddled with drug paraphernalia, broken glass, human waste and other conditions rendering it unusable for residents and visitors alike,” said Crotty in a press release. “We have to reform the bail reform laws so multiple arrests for comparable offenses, even if they are low-level, require a defendant to be brought before a judge. A judge must then assess the seriousness of the offenses with which they are charged, and provide the opportunity for interventions, including substance abuse or mental health services, as a condition of release where appropriate.”
“We’re constantly on the phone with people in Albany, congressional people, to try and get these bail reform laws changed,” DEA President Paul DiGiacomo said in the press conference. “They’re not working. It’s so apparent, its right in front of your face. People are dying every day. Young children are getting shot. If that doesn’t move the needle, what will?”
Crotty herself lives in the area as well, and hopes to combat problems like this if elected to the DA spot.
“I am a resident of Greenwich Village and walk my dog every day past the park and see what the lawlessness has wrought,” Crotty said. “As Manhattan’s top law enforcement official, it is the District Attorney’s job to do her part to ensure the safety and serenity on our streets, in our parks and on the subways for the betterment of all Manhattanites.”
