New NY mayor ‘won’t wait’ on inequality

Å“We are called to put an end to economic and social inequalities that threaten to unravel the city we love,” said de Blasio during his inaugural address.

Å“And so today, we commit to a new progressive direction in New York,” he added stressing that Å“we wonâ„¢t wait.”

Many people in New York are hoping that de Blasio will address the issue of stop-and-frisk tactics employed by the New York Police Department which were supported by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The program which mainly targets minorities was ruled unconstitutional by US District Judge Shira Scheindlin in August.

Scheindlin described the tactics as a Å“policy of indirect racial profiling” that led the New York City police to routinely stop Å“blacks and Hispanics who would not have been stopped if they were white.”

The New York Civil Liberties Union demonstrated in a 2012 report that there had been a sharp increase in the number of police stops over the period of Bloombergâ„¢s three terms in office.

The number of searches rose from 160,851 stops in 2003 to 685,724 in 2011, while half of the 2011 searches included physical searches.

Scheindlin did not halt the program but named a federal court monitor to implement reforms.

However, the city immediately appealed her ruling and a federal appeals court in November halted Scheindlinâ„¢s order which called for changes to the NYPDâ„¢s stop-and-frisk program.

Many New Yorkers were hoping that de Blasio would deal with the NYPDâ„¢s stop-and-frisk program. Nevertheless, he disappointed people in New York even before he was sworn in when he selected William Bratton, who introduced Å“innovative and aggressive” policing policies in the past that are still being used, as the cityâ„¢s new police commissioner.

ISH/ISH