Racial Profiling Alive And Well In Recent ‘Shopping While Black’ Arrests

Stories of young black people getting detained for purchasing luxury items are getting more media attention. The unfounded arrests unfortunately have a long legacy.

Frederick Reese
By Frederick Reese

Kayla Phillips is a 21-year-old nursing student from Brooklyn. After receiving her tax refund, she decided to treat herself to a $2,500 Celine handbag from Barneys New York — one of New York City’s premier retailers. Phillips planned to buy the orange bag for a long time, and when she received the refund, she felt the timing was right. Three

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What Do New Yorkers Want Their Next Mayor To Deal With?

As the field of candidates narrows, New York City residents report wealth distribution as a top issue.

Martin Michaels
By Martin Michaels

Bill de Blasio stood alone Monday as the sole Democratic candidate in New York City’s mayoral race -- his final opponent, William C. Thompson, Jr. announced that he would forgo a recount leaving de Blasio to square off against Republican challenger Joe Lhota in the race to replace Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has led the city of 8.3 million for the

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NYPD’s Counterterror Unit Rivals CIA In Secrecy

If you’re a Muslim in New York City, the NYPD is breaking all sorts of rules to keep an eye on you.

Frederick Reese
By Frederick Reese

Inside a nondescript red brick building on the periphery of New York City lies one of the most publicly known high-tech information centers. News headlines flicker on LED screens as electronic maps and international clocks set to the major cities of the world cover the walls. Twelve large flat-screen televisions hang from the ceiling, with each set

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How Prosecutors Abuse A Powerful Legal Tool To Force Witnesses Into Testifying

Prosecutors in New York use what are known as material witness orders to compel testimony from reluctant witnesses in criminal trials.

Joaquin Sapien
By Joaquin Sapien

The 20-year-old document – labeled the Hotel Custody log by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office – is not easy to decipher. It contains a list of New York City hotels beside columns labeled “Date In” and “Date Out.” There are names of individual prosecutors and the units they worked for at the district attorney’s office. A spokesman for the

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Federal Judge Says What We Already Know: Racial Profiling Is Unconstitutional

Racial profiling is too often looked upon as a minor nuisance but not as a form of victimization.

Edward Rhymes
By Edward Rhymes

A federal judge ruled Monday that the stop-and-frisk tactics of the New York Police Department violated the constitutional rights of minorities in the city. U.S. District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin said police had relied on what she called a "policy of indirect racial profiling" that led officers to routinely stop "Blacks and Hispanics who would

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Company Ends ‘Ghetto Tours’ In The Bronx After Local Outrage

Real Bronx Tours took mostly European tourists from Manhattan to see life in the South Bronx “from a safe distance.”

Associated Press
By Associated Press

NEW YORK — A company that promised sightseer tours to the Bronx that included a New York City "ghetto" has stopped the bus rides under protest from an outraged neighborhood. Real Bronx Tours, which took mostly European tourists from Manhattan to see life in the South Bronx "from a safe distance," issued a statement this week saying it would

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