....December 14, 6:01 PM
 
 
   
It Works In Queens, Even Justice

DA Richard Brown and Trib Publisher Michael Schenkler
By MICHAEL SCHENKLER

On Nov. 26, 2006 a 21- year old Queens man leaving his bachelor party at a Jamaica club just hours before his wedding was gunned down in a barrage of bullets fired by New York City undercover cops. Others in his party were seriously wounded. None of them were armed.

It was a tragic and fatal blunder.

And Sean Bell of Queens lay dead, after 5 cops fired 50 bullets at his unarmed group inside of his car.

It was not the first such blunder by NYC policemen resulting in the death of an innocent young, black man. On Feb. 4, 1999, the name Amadou Diallo became a rallying cry to protest police violence against minorities, when a 23-year-old unarmed, black immigrant was gunned down in the Bronx, being stuck by 19 of 41 police bullets in a tragic and fatal mistake.

The investigation, the trial, the acquittals, the moment in history will remain a stain on this City – a multi-cultural wonderland – as the Diallo incident tragically left us all wondering.

The Sean Bell tragedy is not unlike the Amadou Diallo incident.

Both young black men died unjustly at the hands of New York City policemen. Both were unarmed and apparently involved in no activities that should have caused police to shoot. Forty-one bullets in the Diallo case; 50 in the Bell case. In both cases, the African American community, their leaders, many of us in this city demanded justice and precise steps to insure that New York City police officers will not make the same mistake again. In both cases, New York became a city torn by racial divisions, distrust and by deadly police actions that seemed excessive.

The are, however, differences in the two tragic situations. Diallo occurred in the Bronx; Bell in Queens – without territorial jingoism, Queens has been the multicultural capital of the world with an impressive record of racial harmony.

Rudy Giuliani was Mayor then; Mike Bloomberg, now. The difference is immense. Giuliani was a prosecutor who backed the police seemingly blindly and had rocky relations with minorities. Bloomberg has established himself as a fair and just man with good minority relations. He clearly and publicly reacted to the Bell shooting by saying it seemed, “excessive and unacceptable.” He met with the leaders of the minority community, with members of the Bell family and has worked to keep the city on an even keel.

There is one other very large difference between the two cases: the Queens District Attorney, a man small in stature yet giant in reputation, commanding the respect of all who follow how justice is dispensed in our city.

DA Dick Brown, is a 74-year-old child of this city. After nine impressive years of legal work in the public sector, he became a judge of the Brooklyn Criminal Court. In 1976, Judge Brown became a Justice of the Queens Supreme Court. Taking a leave from the bench he served as Counsel and chief legal advisor to Governor Hugh L. Carey. In 1981 he became an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, where he served for a decade, leaving only to accept appointment as the District Attorney of Queens County. He has been elected four times since. Under Judge Brown’s leadership, the Queens County District Attorney’s Office has attained an extraordinary reputation as one of the finest prosecutors’ offices in the state. His professional credentials include service as President of the New York State District Attorneys Association.

We chatted with Judge Brown last week and with each conversation we have, I am impressed with his compassion, his drive and his concern for justice and community. We are, my friends, in good hands.

We, this city, are still in for rocky times as the slow process of investigation, deliberation and justice conflict with community demands and anger. The conflict is natural and no one on either side should think negatively of the other. We expect and even encourage the southeast Queens community to demand justice. Black leaders must hold the city’s feet to the fire – they must serve as the catalyst because history has shown justice is often elusive. But the city has a responsibility to be cautious and thorough and just in its investigation and final outcome. The process will take time. However, we have the utmost confidence in the Mayor, the DA and the leaders of the Southeast Queens community.

This time, the process will work and Queens will again demonstrate whatever the outcome, that people can believe differently, find justice and live together in harmony.

Michael Schenkler can be reached via this contact form.

 
 
When Re-elected, Hevesi’s Misconduct Was Known

Henry Stern
By HENRY STERN

Last week, we praised Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer for the ethics reforms he adopted unilaterally. He deserves credit for the high standards he has imposed on himself and his administration.

We are disappointed, however, at the ferocity with which state officials appear to be pursuing Comptroller Alan Hevesi. There is no doubt that Hevesi did wrong by misusing his car and driver. He has apologized and paid what was asked of him by the State Attorney General. His action may deserve further punishment, such as censure, a fine, or the loss of his state car. But an effort to drive an independently elected executive from office, based on facts that were widely known at the time of his election, seems to be an over-reaching attempt to frustrate the public will by applying standards of conduct never previously used for such a purpose.

The comptroller is supposed to be an independent watchdog over state agencies, public authorities, local school boards and his sway includes the governor’s office. As far as we know at this point, he has performed that function with distinction for four years. We do not believe the comptroller should be a gubernatorial appointee, or hand picked by the Speaker of the Assembly, as would be the case if the elected Hevesi were removed or forced to resign. We particularly do not believe that the office should be used to create a “balanced ticket” of state officials along geographic, religious or ethnic lines. The State Comptroller is an independent elected official for a valid reason.

Hevesi is not a popular figure with politicians. He is self-contained, somewhat depressed, and has the arrogance of academia as well as the pomposity of politics. He does not have friends who are speaking up on his behalf. For the record, we are in no way close to Hevesi. He treats us with the same relative disinterest he is said to manifest to others. I cannot recall ever having had a personal conversation with him. But when I was Parks Commissioner, he treated our agency fairly and without prejudice, and he usually did not make decisions which would have made our work more difficult.

As reformers, we are enormously concerned about misconduct and conflicts of interest by public officials. But one does not impeach a state-wide elected official for misusing his car and driver, just as one does not impeach a President of the United States for a personal affair, inappropriate as it may have been. In cases where the sanctimonious pursue impeachment, the high ground shifts. People sympathize with underdogs, unless they have committed serious crimes. In the eyes of the public, the tables are turned; the moralistic senators are seen as hypocrites, and the accused sinner becomes a victim.

There will be more about this case in the media in the weeks to come, but an underlying theme to us is the power of the electorate in a democracy. As you know, the word ‘demos’ is Greek for people. 2,193,603 of them voted for Alan Hevesi on Nov. 7. This came after his wrongdoing had been widely publicized on the front pages of newspapers, on radio and television, and after the New York Times urged the election of J. Christopher Callaghan, the Republican-Conservative candidate for Comptroller.

Technically, any taking of something that is not yours can be considered a crime, so it is likely that a local district attorney can find cause for an indictment. As former Chief Judge Sol Wachtler said, “Even a modestly competent district attorney can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich.” If every state and city official who used his or her government car for personal business were to be brought before the bar of justice and punished under the Penal Code, there would be more executives in jail than outside, and it would be extremely difficult to find the quorum necessary to conduct business meetings.

It is possible that the Comptroller will be induced or intimidated into resigning. People often say they will fight to the end the day before they throw in the towel. That decision is his to make.

When I was Parks Commissioner, we never fired anybody between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, so as not to ruin their families’ holidays. We trust that state and county officials will hew to the same level of civility, and that whatever proceedings lie ahead of us take place, if they must, after the inaugural. We hope that there will be no more petty slights inflicted on any elected officials; public events are not private parties. It is true that people who live in glass houses should not throw stones, but it is also true that one should not throw stones at people who live in glass houses.


Starquest@NYCivic.org

Not4Publication.com by Dom Nunziato
Michael Schenkler can be reached via this contact form.