dagblog - Comments for "It's Time For Bill de Blasio To Abandon "Broken Windows""

Interesting that you mention

Michael Maiello — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 14:04:26 +0000

In reply to Great point, and great post.

Interesting that you mention double parking... so here's a crime that really does cause a lot of inconvenience but the nasty secret is that the city can't function without it. A lot of the double parkers are car services and delivery trucks with nowhere else to go. They collect tickets, basically, as a cost of doing business. Then, once a year or so, the big delivery and car service companies hire a lawyer, compile all of their tickets, bring them to traffic court and cut some sort of deal. It's basically a variable tax on these industries. You can't just legalize double parking because that would lead to chaos but if the laws were strictly enforced getting deliveries to shops and restaurants or picking people up to take to the airport would be impossible.

Without losing focus on the

jollyroger — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 01:21:28 +0000

In reply to Great point, and great post.

Without losing focus on the captial punishment outcome that this case imposed for the "crime" of selling what are called "untaxed" cigarettes, I am unable to deconstruct exactly how the "loosie" is untaxed.

The guy presumably purchases a pack of cigarettes at the bodega, where he pays both the state and federal tobacco taxes and the NYC retail sales tax.

Thus, these are "taxed" cigarettes.

He then breaks down the pack and re-sells them individually, but this is really more like buying a case of soda cans and then selling them separately to thirsty, hot, drivers waiting in line at the lincoln Tunnel.

Great point, and great post.

Doctor Cleveland — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 00:50:58 +0000

In reply to It's Time For Bill de Blasio To Abandon "Broken Windows"

Great point, and great post.

And when even The Daily News has given up on broken windows ....

I think there might (and I emphasize *might*) be a way to do a modified broken windows that works. Quality-of-life policing is not a bad goal in itself. But the enforcement has to be proportionate, and with quality-of-life issues almost anything but the lightest touch is disproportionate.

A lot of this piddling nonsense should never come to an arrest. These are things you ticket people for. Jaywalking, grilling on the sidewalk: those things should be citations, not arrests. They are on a level with double-parking, which I would call a more serious threat to the quality of urban life.

If the guy selling loosies is really bothering the local store owners, I think the range of sane policing options are 1) ask him nicely to move along and 2) write him a citation. Anything beyond that is overkill. And if he collects enough, I don't know, $50 fines, that might change the behavior.

The point of police work is to keep the peace. If peace officers are also keeping the city clean and orderly, that's a nice bonus. If they're causing street mayhem in the pursuit of a more livable city ... who wants to live in a city where the cops are causing mayhem?

Good on them!

Michael Maiello — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 15:41:15 +0000

In reply to Did you see the front page of

Good on them!

Did you see the front page of

artappraiser — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 04:57:35 +0000

In reply to It's Time For Bill de Blasio To Abandon "Broken Windows"

Did you see the front page of Monday's NY Daily News?

The story:

EXCLUSIVE: Daily News analysis finds racial disparities in summons for minor violations in 'broken windows' policing
Summons for petty infractions are an element of 'broken windows' policing — and roughly 81% of the 7.3 million people hit with violations between 2001 and 2013 were black and Hispanic. Charges that the NYPD's execution of the policy is racially biased have intensified again since Eric Garner was killed July 17 during an attempted arrest for selling loose cigarettes.
BY Sarah Ryley , Laura Bult , Dareh Gregorian
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, August 4, 2014, 2:00 AM

The photographic data alone,

jollyroger — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 18:02:08 +0000

In reply to Yes, this is very likely.

The photographic data alone, coupled with modern facial recognition software, is no doubt a treasure trove.

I forget where it was officially admitted that the NSA had systematically collected the faces of every visitor to Zuccotti and other occupy venues, but I read it with a shiver. (Genghis, this means you....)

Yes, this is very likely.

Michael Maiello — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 16:56:02 +0000

In reply to Sadly, although you are

Yes, this is very likely. Occupy Wall Street was a good opportunity to put a bunch of people they otherwise wouldn't have had into the system.

I disagree. One of the

Michael Wolraich — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 15:33:59 +0000

In reply to Just as Reagan wouldn't

I disagree. One of the disconnects between Reagan and the Tea Party is that Reagan was not confrontational. If he were still around, he'd be more conservative than he was in the 1980s, but he wouldn't be threatening debt default or attacking moderate Republicans.

La Follette, by contrast, was a born insurgent. If he were around today, he'd be howling in the capitol and denouncing conservatives from both parties. Political ideas have obviously evolved over a century, but the differences between his ideology and that of modern progressives is surprisingly small, and he would certainly be charging hard to the left if he were still around.

Just as Reagan wouldn't

Verified Atheist — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 15:08:22 +0000

In reply to At my book signing, a young

Just as Reagan wouldn't satisfy many Reagan worshipers if he were running today, I suspect that La Follette wouldn't satisfy many of his fans if he ran today.

At my book signing, a young

Michael Wolraich — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 13:00:49 +0000

In reply to It's Time For Bill de Blasio To Abandon "Broken Windows"

At my book signing, a young woman came up to ask me about modern progressive leaders who emulated Bob La Follette. I suggested that De Blasio had campaigned as a modern Fighting Bob, but that I wasn't sure yet about his administration. She told me that worked for the major's office and was utterly disillusioned by De Blasio's lack of progressive vision and direction. As an alternative, I suggested Elizabeth Warren, but the woman just shook her head in disagreement and sadly wandered off.