Brooklynites Unite, Say Strong Communities Are Antidote To Policing

When news broke on Saturday afternoon, December 20, of the murder of two uniformed NYPD officers inside their parked patrol car at Myrtle and Tompkins Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, there were murmurs of horror mixed with anxiety from the 60-plus people of all ethnicities, ages and neighborhoods, gathered inside the Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew in Clinton Hill.

“I just want to let you all know that this just happened, so when you go back out there, be careful when you interact with cops,” said Jose Lasalle of the Coalition to End ‘Broken Windows,’ a group of city advocacy groups that is opposed to the NYPD’s policy of cracking down on minor offenses in order to prevent major crimes — a theory that hasn’t been proven effective, the group said.

The warning was met with nods before everyone returned to sharing testimonials about negative interactions with the police, and brainstorming ideas for how to solve what they saw as the problems of excessive force and lack of police accountability.

“The alternative to ‘broken windows’ is strong communities. Strong communities make policing obsolete,” said Josmar Trujillo, another Coalition member. “Schools closing, a library cutting hours and after-school programs shutting down goes hand-in-hand with people riding or spitting on the sidewalk. We need resources to build strong communities, not swapping one outside policy for another.”

Alec Duffy, co-founder of JACK, a performing arts center at 505 Waverly Place in Clinton Hill, liked the idea of communities working together to support one another.

“I’m looking for ways as a white progressive to get involved and be better able to advocate [alongside] my brothers and sisters of color,” said Duffy. “And as a leader in the arts, I see there are ways to come back to my community and organizations that I can work with.

“For example, next spring, we’re doing a series called ‘Forward Ferguson’ — a collection of play readings, concerts and more,” explained Duffy. “Sometimes we just need to engage by being present and step outside our role as artists, as humans.”

Reverend Michael Sniffen shared the sentiment, noting that the Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew — an Episcopal church that is still recovering from damage caused by an arson fire set two years ago on Christmas Eve — is one of the only large spaces where people can feel safe to come together, whether working on disaster relief, affordable housing, homelessness, policing issues or other concerns and projects.

“I hope we can love and support one another going forward,” Sniffen told the crowd. “This place is a sacred place. . . Our home is your home.”