Lock them up! –

Sep. 30, 2020 – “We need to stabilize the city now and there is a lot of anxiety,” Cuomo said. “I have seen this city go through cycles. Most of the younger guys—you’ve only seen an upcycle. You don’t remember what the city was like because you weren’t born. In the 60s, when it was really bad, and the ‘70s.” The governor’s remarks were markedly different from his rhetoric earlier in the briefing, when he questioned why an armed police officer would be the responding authority during 911 calls regarding substance abuse or mental health issues. Cuomo made the remarks as he introduced a five-point plan to stabilize NYC, which had few details besides listing off NYC’s cascading crises, which included gun violence, cleanliness, and the economy.

Overdose prevention advocates were dismayed Cuomo’s directive to crack down on people using drugs in public.

The vice president of public policy advocacy at the Legal Action Center, Tracie Gardner, called it a “step backwards.”

“We’re supposed to be the leader in responding to people who use drugs,” said Gardner, who worked for the Cuomo administration for three years. “This is not leadership.”

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