How much longer will the city defy a simple transparency law?
In January 2018, a City Council-passed law went into effect requiring the police department to produce demographic data on fare-evasion stops, including station-by-station breakdowns. The NYPD didn’t comply.
Councilman Rory Lancman, who wrote the bill, filed a Freedom of Information Law request demanding the stats. Last month, Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ordered the NYPD to hand over the data, rejecting the argument that it would give turnstile jumpers a heads-up of where cops were.
The NYPD’s response? They’re looking to “release data that satisfies the intent of the legislation” while balancing “security concerns.”
Please; these aren’t secret counterterrorism tactics. Like the statute or loathe it, it’s the law.
The city has a week either to file a notice of appeal Engeron’s ruling or respond to Lancman’s FOIL. Asked in what direction it was leaning, the Law Department wouldn’t say.
The data revealed may force the NYPD and Mayor de Blasio into an uncomfortable discussion. It may surprise police critics. We’ll figure that out later. First, give up the information.
