NEW YORK — With the City Council set to vote Tuesday to override Mayor Eric Adams’ veto of a controversial police reporting bill, supporters of the legislation took to the streets Monday in a leafletting campaign to convince New Yorkers they’re right and he’s wrong.
It’s the showdown at the O.K. Corral. The mayor is trying to fend off the very real possibility that the City Council will override his veto and succeed.
However, political experts say it may be more about his re-election campaign and less about whether he loses Tuesday.
“There’s been a misinformation campaign by the administration,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said.
READ MORE: New York City Council will meet to override mayor’s veto of How Many Stops Act
Williams was on the streets of Brooklyn to lobby for his “How Many Stops” bill, which requires police officers to document every interaction with New Yorkers, including low-level stops police classify as non-criminal encounters. It’s to make sure that minorities are not unfairly targeted.
This as the City Council prepares to vote to override the mayor’s veto.
READ MORE: Supporters rally to overturn Mayor Adams’ veto of How Many Stops Act
Adams says forcing cops to document low-level stops is a time waster, one that will compromise public safety by making officers do paperwork instead of fighting crime.
“Unfortunately, the administration and the mayor have been putting out the hardest way to collect this information in order to present fear and confusion,” Williams said.
Williams and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams argue that cops don’t have to do paperwork. They can can file reports on their smartphones in minutes.
“NYPD is the most technologically savvy police department on the planet. Our advice is to go buy smartphones. We’re talking about regularly issued smartphones that our officers use anyway. Dropdown boxes, click here,” Adrienne Adams said.
READ MORE: Mayor Eric Adams, elected officials, media join NYPD for ride-along as mayor defends vetoing How Many Stops Act
The mayor has mounted an intense arm-twisting campaign to prevent an override, taking council members on NYPD ride-alongs to show that not every stop should be reported.
Stops like, “If a person has a lost parent, who’s dealing with Alzheimer’s or dementia, every one that the officer asks ‘Did they see the person?’ they will have to document that, ” Eric Adams said.
The council passed the bill with a veto-proof majority of 35. Political experts say that with the council speaker all in, it will be difficult for the mayor to prevail.
“Speaker Adams has been very clear. When it comes to controlling the council, she’ll do whatever she has to do, including removing chairmen,” pundit Hank Sheinkopf said.
When asked make this battle now when it just makes you look weaker, Sheinkopf said, “This is about the battle to protect his constituency, the people that love him and trust him and believe that he cares about them.”
The translation is that this is about his desire to get re-elected in 2025, to cast himself as a moderate against the progressives, and to appeal to the moderate outer borough residents who elected him last time.
