New York may have gotten rid of de Blasio and installed a tougher-on-crime mayor, but…
…it’s got a new Soros-backed DA named Alvin Bragg. And you know what that means:
Bragg took over on January 1. On January 4, Bragg promised to instill new rules similar to those in San Francisco and Philadelphia, both of which have DAs backed by Soros.
Just contemplate that for a moment. It’s one thing for voters to have elected people who espouse this philosophy when it was just a fantasy of some sort – although it still was profoundly stupid even as an idea. But now, to try to implement what’s already happening to destroy San Francisco and Philadelphia? Do Bragg (who is black, by the way) and his supporters want law-abiding black central city residents to suffer at the hands of criminals who are predominantly black as well?
Apparently, they do.
Bragg was running against other “progressive” DA candidates anyway in the Democratic primary (the winner of which would be virtually guaranteed to win the election), and apparently he was one of the less extreme of the lot. But here’s a recent statement of his plans:
In his first memo to staff on Monday, Alvin Bragg said his office “will not seek a carceral sentence” except with homicides and a handful of other cases, including domestic violence felonies, some sex crimes and public corruption.
“This rule may be excepted only in extraordinary circumstances…
“Carceral” means pretty much what you’d think it does: prison. Well, that’s one way to empty out the prisons – elect a DA who doesn’t believe in imprisoning the vast majority of criminals.
More details include the following: no prison sentences over 20 years without the possibility of parole, even in the worst cases. Sadistic mass murderer? No biggee, I guess. And except in extraordinary cases there will be no pretrial incarceration.
(Bragg is in charge of the office trying to prosecute Donald Trump, by the way.)
More here:
Armed robbers who use guns or other deadly weapons to stick up stores and other businesses will be prosecuted only for petty larceny, a misdemeanor, provided no victims were seriously injured and there’s no “genuine risk of physical harm” to anyone. Armed robbery, a class B felony, would typically be punishable by a maximum of 25 years in prison, while petty larceny subjects offenders to up to 364 days in jail and a $1,000 fine…
Convicted criminals caught with weapons other than guns will have those felony charges downgraded to misdemeanors unless they’re also charged with more serious offenses…
Drug dealers believed to be “acting as a low-level agent of a seller” will be prosecuted only for misdemeanor possession. Also, suspected dealers will only be prosecuted on felony charges if they’re also accused of more serious crimes or are actually caught in the act of selling drugs.
I wonder if New York will see a lot of resignations in the DA office of prosecutors who didn’t sign up for this sort of thing. And I wonder if a liberal backlash – such as I’ve witnessed from several liberal friends in other blue cities with Soros-backed prosecutors – will occur in New York, and whether it will ever result in a rejection of Democrat/progressive politics.
I doubt whether that last bit – a more general rejection of Democrat/progressive politics – will be occurring in more than a handful of people.
I used to visit New York several times a year. I haven’t been there for two years now, and I doubt I’ll be going back any time soon.
There exists even less reason than before for optimism about Eric Adams now that the insanely ill-conceived plans of the new DA in Manhattan (chosen by a very small percentage of the electorate) are clear, all thanks to the endless funds possessed and used for malign purposes by Dr. Evil himself. Mencken held, amusingly, that “democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard”, and New Yorkers, having voted twice for Comrade Wilhelm, are likely to see Gotham deteriorate even further.
j e:
Money is one thing, but people still can vote as they wish. But most of Bragg’s Democratic opponents were even further left than he was. He was the moderate among them; hard to believe, I know. Voters know the Democrat will win, so why bother? I think that’s the attitude.
I lived not too far from NYC for a couple of years, before the Guiliani mayoralty. It was dangerous then, and I never visited. Sounds like that would be the wise course now as well.
The new mayor just reissued mask mandates that DeBlasio issued. Seem like the mayor and da are peas in the same pod.
What’s the betting pool for when Macy’s gets looted? I think it will take a few weeks before they work themselves up to hitting such an iconic store. But things move fast these days. I say it will happen in February, probably close to Valentine’s Day.
> a more general rejection of Democrat/progressive politics
Unlikely. Detroit went downhill and politics remained the same. Why would the electorate in NY be any different?
Many businesses will flee, cops will look the other way, doors and windows will soon spout bars. Which is a perfect metaphor, under progressives the law abiding reside behind bars, while criminals roam free.
New York implements bag limits for social justice… no, not planned parent/hood.
Same kind of thing is happening in Houston now. Leftist judges are letting indicted capital crime perpetrators out on no bail. Capital crimes, where deaths have occurred – and the accused are out walking around.
Anarchy-tyranny, thy name is Democrat.
It is really remarkable how much detail was described in the guidelines. I suppose the local criminal class, at least the more literate among them, will be studying them diligently.
What is the alignment of the election cycle scheduling of mayoralty vs. DA in NYC? I mean, is election time the same date for all of those, or are they staggered?
Texas still believes in the right to self-defense and defense of property. That does limit the danger posed by criminals and the Soros judges. Unfortunately, the GOP seems uninterested in winning back Harris County. At least I’m not seeing any good candidates stepping forward.
Is it something in the water?
The citizens in blue cities who voted for these woke prosecutors will either take the red pill or reap what they’ve sown.
The citizens in blue cities who didn’t vote for these woke prosecutors don’t have a lot of time left to get out.
I lived or worked in that city from 1970 to 2008. I enjoyed the renaissance created by Giuliani and Bratton. My last 10ish years were spent living in Brooklyn and being completely immersed in all that that wonderful city (thanks Rudy and Bill) had to offer. It was just amazing, wonderful.
Surprisingly, Bloomberg preserved it, but then, along came DeBlasio and his partner Covid. The city went into a death spiral. The images of sixth avenue in the early Covid days was shocking. No cars on a street that NEVER was without cars.
Stoner DeBlazio did all he could, under the guise of progressive magnificence, to drive the city down that death spiral path.
All hope was on the new mayor, at least he got the value of the NYPD. Did he appreciate their immense contribution to the renaissance (Bratton was police commissioner)? Maybe not…
Now, along comes another city destroying DA.
One of, if not the, best big cities in the world is circling the drain.
What a tragedy.
“The citizens in blue cities who didn’t vote for these woke prosecutors don’t have a lot of time left to get out.”
Like I said in the Chicago thread… let the chaos drive out those who are still salvageable and likewise suck in those degenerate mutants who are drawn toward it like moths to a flame.
Sadly there will be some worthy unfortunates who cannot leave for whatever reasons. There always are. Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper.
And we are not our Brother’s 6th Cousin’s Keepers.
Speaking of Bratton (JK Keene), if I recollect correctly; he bypassed local prosecution in Boston (before he was in NYC) and went directly for federal prosecution of gang related murders. Tougher sentences and perhaps prisons. Of course, then you’d have to go through Merrick Garland these days I suppose.
George Soros is besides himself with delight at all this. Some teenagers feel a compulsion to break into housing projects or homes or businesses to trash and vandalize them just for the sheer joy and satisfaction of wanton destruction. Most eventually outgrow these destructive urges and often feel remorse for their destructive ‘teen-rage’ behavior. Some, however, never outgrow it and a few even become multi-billionaires. With more money than they know what to do with they can satisfy their inner satan and trash and vandalize entire cities and countries. I wonder if it is a sexual thing as it is with many arsonists.
I think most of us tend to think of the Giuliani/Bratton NYC Renaissance in cultural and quality of life terms. But not to long ago someone – sorry, I forget who – pointed out that those two men were directly responsible for billions, literally billions, of wealth creation. The amount of wealth that poured into NYC when it became safe was unprecedented. I don’t see that continuing if the city becomes unsafe again. Too many other places to go. I’ve spent a grand total of about 5 hours in NYC, between flights, but my daughter lives there so the safety of the city is personally important to me.
And Zaphod, could you please just, get a life?
Molly Brown’s point is the one I am most confused by. It took a long time to develop the prosperity and tax base in that city. As Hemingway said about his bankruptcy, “Gradually then suddenly.” I can see how New York City seems robust, indomitable, but there has to be a tipping point. Tax revenues drop below a certain point and services start to decline and property values begin to decline, which means tax revenues dip lower…
Along with Defund the Police and COVID, technology is minimizing the need for many workers to convene together in large office buildings. In 2018 Manhattan’s population doubled on a typical workday. (Cool article and animation showing this, here: https://www.businessinsider.com/manhattan-gif-commute-travel-patterns-2018-5 ) There is some percent reduction which ends up closing restaurants and starting a downward spiral in office lease rates. Which causes more reduction in business activity, rinse, repeat.
Gradually then suddenly. Is NYC already lost?
@Rufus:
There’s a Manhattan small business owner called Louis Rossman who has a lot to say about this in his YouTube channel. He’s not hopeful.
@Molly+Brown:
🙂
Life doesn’t really begin before the afternoon trading session. Until then, I’m all yours.
https://www.unz.com/sbpdl/to-fight-racial-disparity-arresting-black-criminals-manhattans-new-black-district-attorney-downgrades-armed-robbery-to-a-misdemeanor/
There’s a graphic you should all look at:
If NYC were 100% White:
Rapes would be down 83%
Murder would be down 91%
Shootings would be down 96%
Source: NYPD.
But it’s from Unz so Reeeeeee!
The NYT would spin this as Whites having Sex on the Brain.
Zaphod:
That violent crime statistics are skewed in the US by the higher crime rates of black men in particular is not some fringe idea that Unz promotes and that other people reject. It is common knowledge and has been for a long long time.
I could say the libs in NYC deserve this, but that would be unkind.
I wonder if the Bratton/Guiliani experience could actually help New York this time around. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, progressives could argue that the sorry state of New York was due to “secular decay” or some such sophistry. Today, there are a lot of New Yorkers who remember not just that things used to better, but that things acutally got better in the 1990’s. It will be much harder now to argue that the new progressive normal is just the way it is.
(Aside – Guiliani having beclowned himself over Trump’s conspiracy theories doesn’t help. Especially for those who aren’t old enough to remember Guiliani’s mayoralty, the image of Guiliani the Trump schill is going to be a lot more powerful than that of Guiliani, the mayor who cleaned up New York.)
Obey soros and bhaal and cain.
None of you live in a free county. It was not free since before even before you were born.
Release the criminals; permit and increase anarchy and danger; then use this as an excuse for additional tyranny.
This is a drama which we have seen before.
The government causes a problem and then claims that the solution is . . . more government. All the while leading less and less freedom and greater tyranny.
Quite frankly, I love my country; I hate what its government has become.
“Which is a perfect metaphor, under progressives the law abiding reside behind bars, while criminals roam free. [Geoffrey Britain @ 5:35 pm]”
Well played!