Protestors Demand DA’s Ouster

By JAMIE DELIZ

“Hey, hey, ho, ho! Cy Vance has got to go!” echoed near several courthouses Thursday when scores of protesters called for the resignation of Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance, Jr., who in recent years, accepted donations from both Harvey Weinstein and President Donald Trump’s attorneys in return to drop major charges, accusers charge.

Vance, who did not prosecute French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn in 2011 and Weinstein in 2015 for charges based on charges of sexual misconduct, as well as Trump’s two children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., for alleged financial fraud in 2012, is now accused of “unfairly” prosecuting low-income blacks and Latinos for low-level offenses.

“Cy Vance has made his career off of being a reformer and trying to present this image of a friendly prosecutor,” said Josmar Trujillo of the Coalition to End Broken Windows. “And we’re here to rip that mask off his face.”

According to Trujillo, those living in these low-income neighborhoods– East Harlem, the Lower East Side– have been under scrutiny by the DA for years, whether it involves being prosecuted for parking tickets, or even jumping the subway turnstiles, he said. “Not only because of the fact that he gives leniency to rich, white Hollywood moguls, but also because he continuously inflicts punishment on people who cannot afford to donate to his campaign.”

Trujillo, along with other advocates from the 5 Boro Defenders, Why Accountability, and Democratic Socialists of America NYC, decorated the sidewalk of 80 Centre street, holding signs that read “#ByeCy” and “#CouldntBuyCy.”

Among them was Brooklyn public defender Lauren Katsman. “I am appalled that Cy Vance had the balls to stand up and say there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute Harvey Weinstein,” said Katsman, further explaining that she’s had “multiple, forcible touching cases,” all of which involved “people of color.” The Brooklyn DA, according to Katsman, prosecutes these forcible touching cases “like they’re the crime of the century,” and requests a high bail, which these clients cannot afford. And as a result, many are “routinely” held on Rikers Island.

Vance’s most recent decision, according to Katsman, was “bumping-up” the possession of a gravity knife, or a switchblade, to a felony charge.

The New York Times reported in an article “What Is Rikers Island?” that about 85 percent of the inmates are detainees who have not been convicted of crimes yet; and 40 percent are living with mental illnesses. According to New York City’s Correction Department’s Population Demographics Report, 53.6 percent of these inmates are African-American and 33.3 percent are Hispanic.

“The bottom line is Cy Vance does not care about black people,” said Shannon Jones of Why Accountability. “He does not care, or actually, he is complicit and a participatory of a system that body snatches and removes African people from their homes and their neighborhoods into the criminal justice system, while at the same time, does not hold the rich elite of the United States accountable for their transgressions.”

Joan Vollero, who works for the Manhattan DA’s campaign, responded to these allegations, saying that Vance is the “first DA in the five boroughs to end the prosecution of most fare-beating cases by diverting turnstile-jumpers from Criminal Court,” and that he also unveiled plans for the Early Diversion Program, which offers “eligible participants over the age of 18 pre-arraignment intervention opportunities throughout Manhattan.” Furthermore, “Not to mention personally dismissing hundreds of thousands of open summons warrants en masse.”

Photo by Jamie Deliz