Silent March Against Stop & Frisk on Sunday
This Sunday, June 17, a silent march against the NYPD’s stop and frisk practice will head down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, ending at Mayor Bloomberg’s home on 79th Street. Council Member Jumaane Williams, who represents part of the neighborhood and who’s been a vocal critic of the stop and frisk, is one of many politicians who will be on hand. More info about the march can be found here.
The map shown above is a portion of an interactive one made by the New York World, showing block-by-block the number of stop and frisk incidents recorded by the NYPD in 2011. If you’ve never considered how many stop and frisk incidents are going on right in our neighborhood, this is a simple, graphic representation. Also, check out this podcast from two neighbors that was recorded this week for more info about the issue.
In the map, the pink blocks are ones in the top 50 blocks that saw the most incidents–the one to the west is bounded by the subway tracks, East 18th, and Albemarle (with 688 stops), and the other is East 21st to Flatbush, Caton to Church (with 621 stops). The areas surrounding those, and the purple areas a little south, in the E 20s near Newkirk and Foster, match up with our “Impact Zones,” where high rates of crime mean more police are sent to patrol the streets.
Compare that to the several grey blocks that had no stops, and notice how the number increase around subway stations and at the park.
Are you surprised by the number of stops on your block? What have your experiences been with stop and frisk in the neighborhood? And are you planning on attending the march?