Free Republic

The NYPD will transition its anti-crime units into other assignments including detective work and neighborhood policing, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said Monday. The change will affect roughly 600 plainclothes officers, he said, with officers in every precinct being reassigned as the department switches focus to community-based efforts. Some officers could also be put into school detective roles or other positions. “Thankfully, here in New York City, angry demonstrations have turned peaceful. Thoughtful discussions about reform have emerged,” Shea said at a Monday afternoon news conference. “We welcome reform, but we also believe that meaningful reform starts from within.” The commissioner...

WASHINGTON - New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday sharply criticized President Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic, arguing that the federal government has not done enough to ramp up production of life-saving medical supplies like masks and ventilators and asking the president to deploy the military across the country. “The president of the United States is from New York City and he will not lift a finger to help his hometown, and I don’t get it," de Blasio said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” "I don’t get it. Right now, I have asked repeatedly for the...

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio became the latest presidential candidate to flash a little español this week when during a political rally Thursday he pulled out a Spanish phrase he thought might motivate workers striking at Miami International Airport. But instead of endearing himself to South Florida’s Hispanic diaspora, an apparently unwitting de Blasio uttered a revolutionary rallying cry deeply associated with Fidel Castro’s Communist revolution and a man viewed by hundreds of thousands of Cuban exiles view as a sociopath and mass murderer. In a gaffe that would force him to apologize, de Blasio quoted notorious Argentine revolutionary...

WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK, NY — A collective scream Wednesday marked a year since Donald Trump was elected leader of the U.S. Hundreds of New Yorkers gathered for the anniversary, crowding into Washington Square Park Wednesday night and howling at the top of their lungs. The cathartic group wail was the only release that would satisfy some New Yorkers after the year that's passed since Trump defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. New Yorkers overwhelmingly supported Clinton during the 2016 presidential elections with all boroughs except Staten Island casting most of their votes for her – 79 percent of ballots. The crowds...

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday announced the 16-member committee that will review all "symbols of hate" on city property over the next three months. Announced in the wake of violence waged by white nationalists at a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia last month, the group is tasked with establishing guidelines for how to assess statues and monuments "seen as oppressive and inconsistent with the values of New York City." The group will also make specific recommendations for "a select few items," according to City Hall. This number undoubtedly includes the statue of Christopher Columbus in Columbus Circle, which Mayor de...

Bergdorf Goodman. Tiffany & Company. Louis Vuitton. Fifth Avenue in Manhattan is to shopping what Broadway is to theater, defined by the marquee names that for decades have occupied some of New York City’s most prized real estate. But lately, the avenue’s glittery window displays have been changing more quickly, as retailers have streamed in and out. Tourism has slowed while online shopping has sped up, making it harder for companies to justify the cavernous spaces and sky-high rents along the shopping strip.

The NYPD won’t cooperate with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents seeking to repatriate illegal immigrants, Mayor Bill de Blasio told RTVi, or Russian Television International. “The NYPD will not participate as immigration enforcement agents because we have, for decades, built a close working relationship with immigrant communities,” de Blasio said. “Our police force is not going to be out there knocking on people’s door and it is not going to share information about people’s documentation status with the federal authorities.”

New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio told CNN's Jake Tapper that it is OK to shield undocumented immigrants who drive drunk from federal authorities if it does not "lead to any other negative outcome." Tapper asked the Democratic mayor on Sunday's "State of the Union" if he would comply with federal authorities following President Trump's executive order to halt funding to cities that do not cooperate with immigration officials by presenting a specific scenario. "Jake, there are 170 offenses in that law that are listed as serious and violent crimes that lead to automatic cooperation between the city of New...