Discussion of Controversial Policy Goes to the Heart of the South Bronx Community
NEW YORK, NY, November 19, 2013 — On November 14, just after Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio won the election with platform hot button “Stop-and-Frisk,” some of the city’s top leaders on the forefront of this controversial issue gathered to discuss this policy. Hosted by Metropolitan College of New York (MCNY) and titled “Urban Dialogues: Stop-and-Frisk and Mass Incarceration,” the panel discussion included Kirsten John Foy, head of the Brooklyn chapter of Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network; Glenn E. Martin, Vice President of Public Affairs and Director of the David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy at The Fortune Society; Darius Charney, senior staff attorney in the Racial Justice/Government Misconduct Docket; and Adeola Ogunkeyede, supervising attorney, Bronx Defenders. The discussion was moderated by Humphrey Crookendale, Dean of the School for Public Affairs and Administration at MCNY.
The robust dialogue was an informative session of Urban Dialogues for students attending the Bronx extension of MCNY, as well as for community members.
“Why do they do all these stops?” asked Darius Charney. “Well, they’ll tell you that they’re trying to get guns off the street, but one out of every thousand times they make one of these stops they actually have found a gun. That’s less than one percent.”
The recent racial profiling incidents, involving Macy’s and Barney’s shoppers accused of theft after making purchases, serve as reminders of the type of policies that need to be explored and addressed by city officials and the New York City Police Department. “They (NYPD) have taken racial profiling and institutionalized it and now, like a cancer it is spreading to other parts of our society,” explained Kirsten Foy. “So, we have got to deal with this here and now with changes in policy.”
The event concluded with the panelists offering solutions to the crisis, including partnering with the National Action Network, the NAACP and the Urban League to revise laws surrounding the current policies and put an end to the injustice of stop-and-frisk.
Research Information:
2005 ACLU article “Racial Profiling: Definition“
About the Urban Dialogues Series
“Urban Dialogues” is a forum, hosted by Metropolitan College of New York’s School for Public Affairs and Administration, in which scholars, legislators, policy makers, students, and citizens exchange ideas and discuss issues and trends that affect New York City and other urban centers across the nation. Topics cover a spectrum of ideas, theories, and viewpoints that inform and/or influence urban policy. The discussions are held on the MCNY campuses in Manhattan and the Bronx. Admission is free and open to the public.
About Metropolitan College of New York
Audrey Cohen, educational visionary and activist, founded the Women’s Talent Corps in 1964. Through development and training for new professional positions, the Talent Corps created employment for thousands of people. It became The College for Human Services, later Audrey Cohen College, and today Metropolitan College of New York (MCNY). MCNY continues the tradition of offering highly motivated learners an education that combines applied skills and professional knowledge to effect personal transformation and positive change in the workplace and community. MCNY is a not-for-profit, accredited, independent college. Full year-round offerings accelerate degree completion, and a unique approach to learning permits close integration of workplace activities and study. MCNY is conveniently located in Hudson Square where SoHo meets TriBeCa at 431 Canal Street, New York, NY 10013 and in the Bronx at 529 Courtlandt Ave Bronx, NY 10451. For more information on MCNY, visit www.mcny.edu or call 800.33.THINK.
