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To the editor:
When it comes to public safety, Mayor Adams has repeatedly shown why he is one of the most divisive and disingenuous politicians in the United States. Only in office since January 2022, he has cast a dark shadow over our city. There is his toxic fear mongering about crime, attacks on both bail reform and progressive prosecutors, as well as his criminalization of the homeless and mentally ill.
On May 1, Jordan Nealy, a homeless man, had a mental health crisis on the F train. Daniel Penny, a former Marine, placed him in a chokehold. A video recorded his death. The city’s medical examiner ruled it a homicide.
Adams’s response was “any loss of life is tragic. There’s a lot we don’t know about what happened.” A few days later he said, “There are many layers to this…let the process follow its course.” He did the exact opposite last July following the knifing death of Austin Simon by Jose Alba.
Contrary to the mayor’s claim, we already know disturbing information about what happened. The victim was shouting and acting erratically. Some passengers felt uncomfortable and threatened. Nealy, however, did not have a weapon or attack anyone. There was no evidence that he used or was about to use deadly force against any passenger, including Penny.
It was the ex-Marine who approached Nealy and after both fell to the floor, two men held him down while Penny applied a chokehold. There is also a video of a rider shouting at Penny to stop the chokehold, that he’s going to kill this man and be charged with murder. Penny ignored the warning.
Adams used this terrible incident to promote his flawed public safety program. He focused on the mentally ill person riding the F train and not the passenger who used a deadly chokehold. “We need to be extremely clear,” the mayor said. “We cannot have people with severe emotional illness in our subway system.”
Hochul, by contrast, said “There should be consequences for the man who choked Mr. Nealy [and that] his family deserves justice.” She called the video of his death “horrific” and the behavior of the three men “a very extreme response.”
Eric Adams is shameless, heartless and unfit to be mayor.
Howard Elterman
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Honestly we all tired of the homeless on the subways and streets and want the situation cleaned up properly by the system but not to kill a man or woman. Nobody deserves to be killed especially if they aren’t trying to hurt someone. I want this paper and other papers ask the ??? Where is all the money the previous mayors wife was in charge of to help the homeless . Why NO TALK , NO investigations , No criminal chargers all this missing resources could probably have helped prevent all this mess! I’m staying hearing silence..
Wednesday, May 10, 2023 Report this