In 2015, 27 police unions from across New York state and Long Island endorsed Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray for Nassau County district attorney – even though Murray was a career politician who had never practiced criminal law and her opponent, Madeline Singas, was a career prosecutor and then acting DA.
James Carver, president of the Nassau County Police Benevolent Association, said the union’s support was based on Murray having a “proactive plan.” What that plan was he didn’t say.
Also unmentioned was that Murray was a Republican and that for the past 50 years police unions had backed the GOP machine in Nassau while police received the most generous compensation plan in the state in return.
But Carver did add that he objected to Singas’ campaign message promoting her efforts to prosecute police officers in the county, saying it made it harder for him to believe the unions could establish a strong working relationship with her DA’s office.
“If a police officer does something wrong, obviously they’re not above the law and they go forward, but to make that point in campaign literature, I think, is the wrong thing when there are so many other issues,” he said.
Times certainly have changed.
On Friday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a 10-bill package that will loosen restrictions on police disciplinary records, force state troopers to wear body cameras while on patrol, ban chokeholds, establish the “right to record police activity” and make permanent a special prosecutorial unit to investigate deadly civilian-police interactions.
The legislation came amid the nationwide racial justice protests that erupted after the release of video of a Minneapolis police officer with his knee on George Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds in broad daylight in front of three other officers.
Which followed a series of other deaths of black Americans across the country at the hands of police in recent years.
None of those deaths took place in Nassau, but the county PBA’s endorsement of Murray was in keeping with those around the country when the idea of doing more to hold police accountable came up.
Police unions routinely used sizable campaign contributions and the threat or even use of charges against candidates that they were soft on crime to bolster the contenders of their choice. Until now, this was an effective combination.
Singas, who defeated Murray in a landslide five years ago and won re-election last year, outlined reforms last week to address concerns about policing in Nassau.
They included a call for the establishment of civilian oversight boards to handle police complaints, higher juror pay to increase diversity and the expansion of mental health services for police officers. All good ideas that should be enacted.
In announcing her proposals, Singas referenced the millions of Americans across the country who have acted to end “systemic racism, mistreatment by law enforcement, and a fairer criminal justice system.”
We agree with Singas. But we do not think that the police reforms go far enough. We believe there should be an end to qualified immunity for police, the drug war, overcriminalization, no-knock warrants and mandatory minimums.
But we also believe, like many protesting, that the problems with George Floyd go even beyond policing and the criminal justice system. And that these problems are part of the systemic racism and white supremacy that can be found across this country – including Nassau County.
It is no coincidence that blacks, who make up about 12 percent of Nassau County’s population, accounted for 19 percent of its coronavirus deaths, according to a state report in May.
There are many reasons for this, but start with housing.
The county is one of the most segregated suburban counties in the country. This did not happen by accident.
A recently published Newsday investigation showed that black home buyers have frequently been steered away from predominantly white areas.
But this is just the latest iteration of discrimination in housing on Long Island — one of if not the most important means of creating family wealth.
Until the 1960s, the Federal Housing Administration, which provided government-backed mortgages, blocked non-whites from buying homes through redlining.
And private developers like William J. Levitt included restrictive covenants that barred leasing and sales to blacks. Levitt did not end the practice until 1968.
Local villages also play a role through the control of zoning. That zoning can allow for affordable housing. Or not.
Perhaps some village officials now protesting George Floyd’s death might consider if their zoning policies would have allowed George Floyd to live in their neighborhood.
The villages and towns could get started by rezoning commercial districts to permit mixed-used developments with retail on the ground floor and housing above it.
Even before the pandemic, there was a consensus that mixed-use developments are needed to sustain downtowns in the future. Now, with the devastating impact of the pandemic, they are a necessity.
Housing in Nassau County is closely tied to schools. Although schools are often portrayed as a means to even the playing field, it does the opposite in Nassau, thanks to the gross inequities in how we fund our schools.
This is known as destiny by zip code.
There is nothing fair about a system in which a school district such as Sewanhaka spends $24,000 per pupil and an adjacent school district in Great Neck spends $34,000 per student.
Two school districts on Long Island – Wyandanch and Brentwood – are so underfunded that they will struggle this year to provide “a sound, basic education” as required by the state Constitution.
Whether intentional or not, this taxpayer-funded system favors whites over non-whites. We doubt this is being taught in schools. But it should be.
The county’s assessment system should be included in that course.
The county did not reassess property in the county for seven years.
During that time about $2.2 billion in taxes were shifted from generally more affluent property owners who successfully appealed their property taxes to generally less affluent owners who did not — many of whom were minorities.
The county conducted a reassessment this year and discovered who was underpaying and who was overpaying.
Did it seek to somehow compensate those who had been overpaying? No.
Instead state and county officials pressed for a five-year phase-in in which the owners who were underpaying taxes would continue to underpay their taxes and those who were overpaying would continue to overpay. Just by smaller amounts.
Which is to say that in general blacks will continue to overpay the taxes on homes located in inferior school districts that they were steered to by real estate agents, depressing the value of their homes.
Change is possible.
Recent changes to bail and discovery laws have improved the state’s criminal justice system following the state Senate coming under Democratic control with the help of six legislators from Long Island.
The state’s prisons were filled with poor people – many of whom were black and brown – simply because they could not afford bail while those with more means went free. Often in the process, jobs were lost and families fell apart.
Racism and social injustice can be found in many places, which means right here in Nassau.
We need to acknowledge these problems. And then act.
