In West Harlem residents are sharing their stories this evening about the NYPD going into Public Housing Complexes and making mass arrests on June 4th. The Mass Incarceration Network says it was a military style assault by over 400 police at the General Grant and Manhattanville Housing Complexes.
A grandmother says stepped from her bedroom to find a gun in her face. She tried to shield her 7 year old grandson from the police. One said, “We’ll get him later.”
A 16 year old girl woke with a gun shoved in her face, dragged from her bed in her underwear, she was handcuffed and thrown to the floor next to her mother. This is while the police ransacked the apartment. The girl said, “Now I can't sleep, even a knock on the door makes me jump.”
About 300 tenants of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village rallied on the steps of City Hall today. They said they want to make sure that the complex remains affordable under any new ownership. Senator Chuck Schumer promised to protect the middle class enclave on Manhattan’s East Side. New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer said they're "drawing a line in the sand" when it comes to preserving affordable housing at Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village.
And there was a win today for some low wage workers. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has adopted a new minimum wage policy for contract workers at all Port Authority facilities.
Fathers are coming together at City Hall with community and City Council members to talk about the powerful role fathers have in their children's lives. Manny Yanko is with the Children's Aid Society.
"A million and one fathers just coming together really taking the fatherhood pledge to understand the important role of fatherhood. It's such a powerful piece in our children's lives, so my role as father in whether I'm present or absent is still teaching my child something."
Dads on Saturday will take a Fathers Day Pledge to do everything possible to be there for their children and for young children whose fathers are not around. In New York City, the pledge is on the steps of City Hall at noon on Saturday. All are invited.
Linda Perry, WBAI News, New York
