City and state lawmakers were stunned by Monday’s shock announcement from Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio that the Big Apple would be placed under an 11pm curfew following days of protests and unrest across the city.
“The fact that city food delivery workers who work overnight to restock shelves are messaging me frantically right now not sure if they can work tonight with the abruptly announced city curfew tells you a lot about the state of government right now,” tweeted Councilman Mark Treyger (D-Brooklyn).
“It’s amazing when as an elected you find out that your neighborhood is going on lockdown because of Twitter,” wrote Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz (D-Queens). “Not because the Mayor or the Gov’s teams give you a heads up… and it’s even better when you ask and they blame each other for the decision.”
Councilman Justin Brannan responded sarcastically, “Nothing like being an elected official and getting your news from @NY1.”
Cuomo and de Blasio announced Monday afternoon they agreed to institute a curfew across the five boroughs following four days of demonstrations across the city to protest the death of Minnesota man George Floyd, who died following a violent arrest by police there.
Video of the arrest revealed one of the arresting officers Derek Chauvin put his knee on Floyd’s neck even as he struggles for air, telling the cops “I can’t breathe” more than a dozen times.
The quote and tape evoked memories of Eric Garner’s death in New York City six years ago, which key catalyst for the national Black Lives Matter movement.
The Staten Island man died in 2014 after NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo put him in a chokehold — a maneuver barred by the department’s patrol guide — as he tried to arrest Garner, triggering waves outrage and protest and demands for Pantaleo’s firing and prosecution.
But the case lingered for five years before then-Police Commissioner James O’Neill sacked Pantaleo in 2019, after both a Staten Island grand jury and federal prosecutors declined to bring charges.