De Blasio gets policing advice —
from ex-cons
By Frank Rosario and Natalie
O'Neill
November 21, 2013 | 8:27pm
Forget Ray Kelly, Bill de Blasio
is getting his policing advice from the real experts — hardened criminals.
A group of 50 ex-cons, junkies and
chronic vagrants gathered at a Manhattan “Think Tank” Thursday to describe what
they thought the NYPD should be
doing to make their lives easier.
The felonious forum outlined a
clear “get-soft-on-crime” vision.
“I like the idea of ending stop and
frisk. That was the first thing that was totally there for me,” opined Mikell
Green-Grand, a 49-year-old former jailbird who has convictions for grand
larceny and identity theft.
Arthur Castillo, 38 — who has been
convicted for possessing stolen property and assault — said he would be much
obliged if the cops just left him alone to do his thing.
“Cops won’t leave us alone!” he
said. “Newly released prisoners are watched by the police and a lot of us don’t
feel we have an opportunity to readapt to normal life because we are treated as
criminals even though we are free.”
The event, which was held in Morningside Heights, was hosted by an advisory group
called Talking Transitions, run by liberal billionaire investment magnate George Soros.
The goal was to offer de Blasio
tips on “policing, corrections, parole policies and more.”
Since Talking Transitions is
actually advising de Blasio during his preparations for assuming office, the
opinions posited by the panel of crooks and deadbeats will be relayed to him
and could have real policy effects.
“Bloomberg forgot about all of us.
I’m hoping DeBlasio remembers us,” said Gregorio “Koko” Cruz, 63, who was
convicted of first degree manslaughter, robbery, kidnapping and criminal
possession of a weapon.
“After 12 years of Bloomberg, it’s time for a change,” the
thief Green-Grand added.
Castillo, of Bayside, Queens, called for de Blasio to both “redistribute” the
wealth and pay what is, in effect, protection money.
“A lot of money is spent on the
prison system — it should be used to cultivate prisoners lives,” he opined.
“The money should be redistributed to help those who want to change while they
are incarcerated.”
Other ex-cons suggested that de
Blasio make the city easier for illegal immigrants to find work.
“Currently, our policies with
foreigners coming in here is a problem,” said ex-con Michael Francis.
A day before the convicts talked
policy uptown, De Blasio toured Talking Transitions SoHo headquarters.
The group says it is “an open
conversation about the future of New
York City…to help shape the transition to a new
mayor.”
De Blasio didn’t appear at the
event, but he will be brought up to speed by reps from the organization, who
partnered with The Fortune Society, which helps prisoners transition into the
real world after release.
Bloomberg
Michael R.
Bloomberg is the New York (NY) mayor, a friend of Henry A. Kissinger, was a benefactor
for the Harlem Children's Zone, and
a donor for the Robin Hood Foundation.
Note: Bill de Blasio is
the mayor-elect for New York (NY), and was the 2013 Bill de Blasio (NYC) mayoral campaign candidate.
George
Soros was a benefactor for the Harlem
Children's Zone, and is the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Harlem Children's Zone, the International
Rescue Committee, the Robin Hood
Foundation, the New America Foundation, the Hudson
Institute (think tank), and the Aspen
Institute (think tank).
Maurice R.
Greenberg was a benefactor for the Harlem
Children's Zone, is an overseer at International
Rescue Committee, and a trustee at the Manhattan
Institute for Policy Research (think tank).
Clifford S.
Asness is a director at the International
Rescue Committee, a trustee at the Manhattan
Institute for Policy Research (think tank), was a leadership council member
for the Robin Hood Foundation, and supported same-sex marriage in New York.
Daniel
S. Loeb supported same-sex marriage
in New York,
and is a trustee at the Manhattan
Institute for Policy Research (think tank).
Ravenel Boykin
Curry IV is a director at the New
America Foundation, and a trustee at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (think tank).
Herbert I. London
is the president emeritus for the Hudson
Institute (think tank), a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (think tank), and was a 1989 Herb London
(New York)
mayoral campaign candidate.
Charles H. Brunie
is a trustee emeritus at the Hudson
Institute (think tank), and was the chairman for the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (think tank).
Robert Skidelsky
was a trustee at the Manhattan Institute
for Policy Research (think tank), and is a member of the House of Lords.
Charles D. Powell
is a member of the House of Lords,
and a trustee at the Aspen Institute
(think tank).
Henry A. Kissinger was a lifetime
trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), is a friend of Michael R. Bloomberg, a director at the
American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference
participant (think tank).
Michael R.
Bloomberg is a friend of Henry A.
Kissinger, the New York (NY) mayor, Martin J. Geller is his accountant, and the founder of Bloomberg LP.
Martin J. Geller
is Michael R. Bloomberg’s accountant,
and a director at the New York Police
& Fire Widows' & Children's Benefit Fund.
Edward
Skyler was the deputy mayor for New York (NY), the press aide for Bloomberg LP, and is a director at the New York Police & Fire Widows' &
Children's Benefit Fund.
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