New York City Council looks to override mayor's veto of solitary confinement, police transparency bills
The New York City Council is set Tuesday to override Mayor Eric Adams’ veto of legislation banning solitary confinement in jail and requiring the NYPD to document more types of police stops.
The council's plans were announced late Friday, just before the close of business, in an emailed statement sent by the office of the council speaker, Adrienne Adams of Queens, who has been in a public war of words with the mayor over whether the legislation improves or jeopardizes public safety.
"We should all be united in advancing our city by recognizing the harmful legacies of injustice that undermine the health and safety of our city and its neighborhoods," the statement said. "The Council has no interest in prolonging a conversation that has been made unnecessarily toxic by the spreading of fear and misinformation, and we plan to override the mayor’s recent vetoes on Tuesday."
Mayor Adams has said the legislation — two bills, both passed last month — is unworkable, unwise and dangerous.
The mayor's spokesman Charles Lutvak said in a statement Friday evening that the legislation would "make our city less safe."
"We share the Council’s goal of increasing transparency in government and tried to work with them to achieve that — the answer is not to compromise public safety or justice but to work together to craft real solutions," the statement said.
One of the bills mandates that cops log all investigative encounters with civilians, beyond a decades-old requirement to document only those stops in which a person is detained and isn't free to leave.
The other bill caps the isolation of inmates to four hours, and only those who pose an immediate, violent risk could be isolated. The bill would also mean those involved in violent incidents must generally be allowed out of their cells for at least 14 hours a day in congregate settings.
Mayor Adams says the stops bill would create needless bureaucracy and lead cops to spend less time fighting crime. The bill's supporters say it's necessary to get a true picture of how policing works in the city, and that there has long been an undercount of stops — even those currently required to be tracked.
As for the jails bill, Mayor Adams says that restricting isolation will harm the safety of inmates and guards alike; supporters of the bill say that isolation even for a short period causes psychological harm and puts a person at greater risk for suicide.
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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