Source: Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin / Getty
Eric Adams young tenure as the mayor of New York City has been rocky to say the least as he’s made some questionable and controversial decisions over the past few months. Now the polarizing political figure is defending the NYPD for using unnecessary actions against street vendor María Falcon in a subway train station.
According to The New York Times, Mayor Eric Adams came to the defense of police officers who last month handcuffed Falcon who was apparently selling mangos in a Brooklyn subway station without a license. New Yorkers know that many people sell all kinds of products in subway stations and it doesn’t bother anyone a single bit, but police decided it warranted some cuffs and now Adams is insinuating that the illegal sale of fruit in subway stations could lead to bigger and badder problems.
Mr. Adams said that New Yorkers must “follow rules” when selling food in the subways, and that the Police Department should enforce them.
“Next day, it’s propane tanks being on the subway system,” Mr. Adams said at an unrelated City Hall news conference. “The next day, it’s barbecuing on the subway system. You just can’t do that.”
That’s just ridiculous, but we get it. The NYPD basically abandoned and literally turned their backs on New York’s previous mayor, Bill de Blasio for publicly criticizing their policing methods, and he was white! You kind of figure they’ll be quick (or quicker) to do the same to New York’s African-American Mayor. Just sayin.’
With subway crime a huge problem for New Yorkers these days, Adams also now wants to crack down on people potentially getting sick from food sold without a permit because we all know that permit-less food is contaminated by nature. Unfortunately María Falcon got caught up and was handcuffed on the train platform at the Broadway Junction station this past April 29. Police noticed she had a tray of fresh melon, kiwis and mangoes propped on a laundry cart and figured she was a menace.
After police stopped her and cuffed her, she was searched and issued a summons before being released.
Ms. Falcon, who also sells churros and chocolate, was first issued a mobile food vendor license in 2009 but has not been able to get a permit to operate her cart, said Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez, deputy director of the Street Vendor Project at the Urban Justice Center. The city has for years capped the number of mobile food vending permits at 2,900 — barring Ms. Falcon from obtaining the document she needs to sell her fruit on the streets.
While Adams feels it was a righteous stop, other city officials see this as BS and took to social media to say as much.
Adrienne Adams, speaker of the City Council, said on Twitter on Monday that New Yorkers who are trying to make a living should not be pushed into the justice system. “Street vendors like Maria deserve to work with dignity and respect,” she said.
And Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller, said on Twitter that “handcuffing Maria in front of her daughter for selling fruit does nothing to make our city safer.”
Eric Adams looking more and more like a one-term Mayor. Just sayin.
Mayor Eric Adams Defends Cops Who Handcuffed Woman For Selling Fruit was originally published on hiphopwired.com
