Category Archives: Fight for what is Right!

Feb 16, 2023. Noon.
Steps of NY City Hall

“Silent No More”
We demand to be safe.
Enough is Enough!

A protest against the Socialist Agenda of the Progressive Caucus
Hosted by @saferstreetsny ;@UnsafeStreetsUS ;@WomenSafeNYC

Nicole Palame [@womensafenyc] led the rally against  the Progressive Caucus , the radical politicians forcing a Socialist Agenda on the city.

The Rally Against the Socialist Agenda was also hosted by @westsideco_org;@RachelBrad33;@nycpix;
@susanleenyc;@NYCDriversunite;@VickieforNYC;@votebrian; @Maria4Dist6;@AFineBlogger;@voteshekar;@ImpunityCity;
@enforcelawsNYC

Flickr Slide Show:

During the presser, those progressive politicos who tried to ignore the presser: Lincoln Restler, Tiffany Caban and Shekar Krishnan, were outed and heckled are they passed by.

While Councilman Erik Bottcher and NY 1’s Errol Louis set a bad example for these journalism students from  @newmarkjschool journalism.

 Showing no interest in a presser on the steps of City Hall. Their backs to the crowd. the reporters. the speakers.

Is this the future of journalism?

“Love taking @newmarkjschool journalism students on our annual visit to City Hall.(that’s them swarming @JimGennaro ) Thanks to @NYCSpeakerAdams for chatting with us.” [https://twitter.com/errollouis/status/1626301349125099523/photo/1]

Meanwhile, some playful shenanigans from that crazy bunch of Progs inside City Hall, as  they posted a “New look,” in the rotunda.

“New and improved.” “We got a face lift!”
(SILLY council members having fun)
[https://twitter.com/JCColtin/status/1626295133426659328/photo/1]

Some background on the NYC PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS (@NYCProgressives)

“In 2020… leaders of the City Council’s Progressive Caucus decided they needed to establish a litmus test: a “statement of principles” that called for a commitment to a lengthy agenda including universal early childhood education, affordable housing and, most controversially, a reduction in the Police Department at a time when major crime rose by 22 percent last year. The Progressive Caucus was founded in 2010  … It gradually grew in numbers and stature, peaking at 35 members this year — and clearly appeared ready to reshape the 51-member Council.

But, leaders of the leftist movement demanded loyalty and a pledge to a new statement of principles. (a “statement of principles”) calling for a reduction in “the size and scope” of the Police Department. That’s when the trouble erupted. The 35-member caucus was divided by the demand: 15 members quit the group rather than signing, with several saying that such a rigid approach, especially on policing, left progressives out of step with real-life concerns.”
[https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/17/nyregion/progressive-nyc.html]

+ ” But recent mayoral victories  in Chicago and  Los Angeles against more conservative “tough on crime” candidates has created momentum for the progressive platform.” [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/18/nyregion/eric-adams-budget-progressive-nyc.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare]

Encouraging even more ludicrous progressive principles:

▪ “Full civil rights for all New Yorkers regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or physical disability. This includes a commitment to the safety and well-being of LGBTQIA New Yorkers, but especially Black and brown trans-women, reproductive rights for women and other people who can become pregnant, full municipal privileges and responsibilities regardless of immigration status or criminal record.” [https://nycprogressives.com/statement-of-principles/]

[Excerpted] “We should be PRAISING our Law Enforcement. However (they) are being disrespected on a daily basis. We have a body of elected officials; they’re not  public servants. They are socialist activists infiltrating our democrat party and bringing chaos in to our city. This is unacceptable. If anything, give our Law Enforcement a RAISE. Support our Law Enforcement. We all have to stand together and vote these people out. How dare you laugh and smile and smirk at us…it’s time for you to get out of office. We do NOT support SOCIALISM. I stand with Law Enforcement. Get RID of the Progressive Caucus. We’re not safe… but THEY got their security. Defund THEM and I will always Back The Blue.” (3:11)

Part 3- Madeline Brame, Chairwoman Victims Rights Reform Council. Mother of homicide victim , Army veteran Hason Correa.  (8:53)

  (Excerpted with short Nicole Palame intro)“The Progressive Caucus wasn’t in the courtroom. They didn’t support her.” Madeline Brame (begins)  “You’re FIRED! Exactly what are we paying you for. We are taxed to the max to pay these salaries. … Not another dime of our tax dollar to the failed initiatives. They do everything but lift the black and brown community out of poverty. If Rikers is that bad, why do people keep committing crimes. Some would rather (be in Rikers) than be on the streets with no jobs…. NYC is out of control. People grandstanding , telling us what they think we want to hear. They get a little position and they turn their nose up in the air. They don’t even like black people. They’re black themselves and they don’t even like black people. They think they’re better. But election after election after election, for decades, we continue to go out and vote the same way. … (but) when they see life-long democrats beginning to walk away from the plantation of the democrat party and changing their political affiliation …  If you don’t like the word Republican, become a Conservative. Most black and brown people were raised with conservative values. If you wanta eat, you work. You gotta go to school and bring that high school diploma. There was no layin’ around. After graduation you either work, you go to college or you go to the military. And there was no other alternative. Those are good, strong, American values. Conservative values. God. Number One. Family. Number Two. And Country. Number Three. Everybody can agree with that. Everybody has those same values. How we turned from it and let all this chaos and confusion happen around us, I have no idea. But, until we get back to the structure of the nuclear family, in my community, things will continue on a downward spiral. Repeal Bail Reform. …  Send that garbage through a shredder and start over from the beginning and make some real investments in our communities. Billions of dollars. We don’t need more basketballs. We don’t need no more damn hula hoops. No more recreation centers. The newest appeasement is Roller Skates.We don’t need that. Fix the dilapidated housing. Get those mothers some parenting classes. Fix those failing schools. Give our boys some skills, some training. Instead of pickin’ up a gun, … let them put on a uniform. Let them  … train to use it properly and get paid to shoot the bad guy. You wanta die. Die a Hero. And not a zero.”(8:53)

Part 4- Raul Rivera – TLC Driver Advocate, a native New Yorker. (2:00).

[Excerpted]  “….we’re getting killed, we’re getting robbed, we’re getting shot …It is very important that we get these WOKE D.A.s out of office. We say “Hell No” to Alvin Bragg. We don’t give up. We don’t surrender. We don’t retreat. Today. Tomorrow. Forever.”  (2:00).

Part 5 – Amy Tse, Community Activist from Queens (2:52)

[Excerpted] “Violence against our seniors; our mothers, fathers and children …. (dying because of) gang violence. It’s heart breaking. Shop owners, Asian Americans have been targeted for robberies and random acts of violence.(…)And if you think this doesn’t affect you, your community, think again…. It affects ALL our communities. Violent and REPEAT offenders affect ALL of us. We deserve safety, instead of being terrorized. Elected officials who signed a pledge to Defund the NYPD do not have our livelihoods, family’s safety or our best interests at heart. We MUST get rid of them. Every election day we can make a difference. VOTE THEM OUT. (2:52)

Part 6 – K-Born Rivers, Founder “I am My Community Inc” from the Bronx (1:52)

.[Excerpted] “I’m not a big major fan of the NYPD, but I am a big major fan of common sense….  You don’t defund the police and not add more security. …. We have ta get these people out. We have ta vote. Let’s hold special elections. Let’s get them outta here.” (1:52)

Part 7 – Tiffany Keriakos, small business owner from Bklyn,Manhattan (2:57)

(Short intro Nicole Palame) “Diversity. Dialogue. We don’t agree on everything, but we are willing  to work together to get things done in this city and make this city livable for everybody.” (Excerpted) Tiffany Keriakos: “We all know small businesses are the beating heart of NYC. Yet the crime wave, especially retail theft, is leaving many businesses fighting for their lives. (she describes the thefts, break-ins and employee assaults at her decades old business) When criminals break in to our store, we’re left to foot the bill of the repairs, the merchandise, and we’re expected to get back -to-business “as usual”. (re insurance)  … Everybody drops you when you have a robbery. ( ….) Only big names corporations will be left to monopolize our retail environment. Instead, we should be supporting small businesses that are the back-bone of our communities. (… ) Who is going to make these criminals stop. Otherwise we’re not going to have small businesses anymore and New York will never be the same.”(2:57)

Part 8 – Maria Danzilo- Exec. Dir.”One City Rising”. Former candidate NY State Senate (Manhattan Westside) (3:39)

[Excerpted]  .”.. the way this “Regressive” Caucus is behaving…. we actually have SPIRALING crime due to years of very bad policies.  We have Catch and Release Bail Reform; Decriminalizing EVERYTHING. Our District Attorney isn’t prosecuting crime. … This is a moment when we really shouldn’t be talking about Defunding the Police. In this environment… we have this completely OUT OF TOUCH group of electives trying to DEFUND the police… They don’t seem to care. They’re in another world; another reality. Instead of giving us public safety…they’re giving us : a PURITY Test.  They want everybody in their  caucus to agree to this radical and extreme purity test or they’re OUT. Thank you for that test. The people who are in that caucus and those who left, we know where you stand now: completely divorced from reality. They seek to divide. At war with our mayor. … We are not about abolishing police.  … They just want money and power. ” (3:39)

Part 9 – Gene de Francis, veteran and community leader from the Bronx (4:11)

[Excerpted] “The Right was right. Republicans were right; still are right. Ever since COVID happened. The shutdowns. The mandates. The masks. The defunding the police. The pushing away of the police. But, we work well with Democrats, despite what you see on the media. We will not work with Socialists. And we don’t call them “Progressives”. … They are REgressive. … When you centralize power, that is not American; that is Socialism. This country is run by moderates. …  Regressives try to label Republicans as extremists. … Capitalism is not an evil word. Educate your kids and don’t ever fight Free Speech. We need different opinions. … Keep these freedoms and pass it onto our next generation.”(4:11)

Part 10 -Nicole Palame – (4:48) During the final comments a couple of progressive council members tried to ignore the presser, but were called out  with VOTE THEM OUT as they passed by.  (Lincoln Restler (0:58), Shekar Krishnan (2:35)…”there’s another socialist” (while in the back ground also ignoring the presser, Councilman Erik Bottcher) 

Part 10 -Nicole Palame –  closing comments (4:48)

(Excerpted)”These majority of New Yorkers do not want to defund the police …  they want good change. We demand to be safe. We (challenge) the city council: Join Our Caucus. The Caucus of Unity and Community. And then lets have a dialogue about how we make progress in this city once and for all.  [she introduced those present who are running against the city council members and name those council members] [re those who left the Progressive Caucus she asked] “… these people left the caucus in the final hour. Did they leave it because they’re a little afraid they have a challenger? Or did they leave it because they realized they were in the wrong caucus. WE gotta call them out. We gotta tell them to debate. We wanta know the truth. We deserve to know the truth. … Any elected official who is advocating for the abolition or even defunding of the police is out of touch with reality. …. Pledge to serve your community and meet the needs of the community today and prevent crime from happening.”( 4:48)

+There were many fine, impassioned speakers. A genuinely diverse group.

However, the extent of the coverage from Errol Louis at NY1 was sadly lacking. ( Errol is  standing in separate group lower right of photo)

“A fine day at City Hall. This “Enough is Enough” coalition includes several candidates for City Council. The group denounced the Defund movement and loudly booed some members of the Progressive Caucus as they walked in. ” [Errol Louis @errollouis]

 Guess he was more interested in chatting up the “very charming” Councilman Bottcher. [https://twitter.com/errollouis/status/1626299889998041091]

+Two months later, the Democrat’s  – again -ignored the victims of violent crime at a field hearing of the House Judiciary Committee. (photo HJ News.com))

Madeline Brame, who chairs the nonprofit Victims Rights Reform Council, told committee members that Bragg’s mishandling of her son Hason Correa’s 2018 killing began a few months after the district attorney took office last year.

“DA Bragg has demonstrated over and over again that he has no regard or concern for human life or victims of crime,” Brame testified. [NY Daily News]

(very short clip from cops4freedom)

.As she spoke, Madeline Brame was disrespected, even sneered at by the Democrats. There was no apology for their lack of empathy. Trump was their focus, their boogey-man.

“When Alvin Bragg came into office, he was handed a strong, trial-ready murder case and gang assault case against all four of these individuals,” she said, before recounting how “the case immediately began to unravel.”

“He dismissed — completely dismissed — gang assault and murder indictments against two of the defendants clearly on video participating in the brutal, savage slaughter of my son,” Brame went on. “Hason was kicked, punched, stomped and stabbed nine times by four individuals whom he did not know, nor had he done them any harm.”

Four siblings — Christopher, James and Mary Saunders, and another brother, Travis Stewart — attacked the 35-year-old married father of three outside a Harlem apartment building.

James Saunders pled guilty to gang assault and second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison, below the maximum of 25 years to life — along with Christopher Saunders who was also convicted of gang assault and sentenced to 20 years to life.

Travis Stewart also pled guilty to gang assault but was sentenced to just seven years in prison. Mary Saunders was released from prison last May on time served after having spent 14 months at Rikers Island.

“Travis will be out in the next 18 months,” Brame said. “Mary Saunders — this savage is currently walking the streets of Harlem like she didn’t just participate in the brutal slaughter of another human being — home with her family, home with her children.

“If that’s not a threat to public safety, I don’t know what is,” she added. “And as far as the Manhattan district attorney’s office, if he’s receiving one penny of federal dollars, you need to pull that funding until he starts doing his damn job and prosecuting crime.”

Audience members broke into applause several times during Brame’s testimony, prompting Jordan to remind spectators of the hearing’s rules of decorum.  [NY POST]

+And when New York City’s Mayor Adams responded, he did so with shameful ignorance:

“Mayor Adams slammed Rep. Jim Jordan and other House Republicans on Monday morning for pulling a “political stunt” and “hypocrisy” for the hearing they held later in the day to examine the crime policies of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. [NY Daily News]

SOCIALISM is destroying America.
The One Party Machine.
BLUE States. BLUE Cities.

Can we turn the tide?

“Silent No More”
We demand to be safe.
Enough is Enough!

Or, is it too late to rout the enemy?

[Where indicated, pictures and videos property of Pamela Hall-VSB]