Did last week’s violent, gang-fueled “wilding” through Times Square deliver a needed wake-up call for rookie Manhattan DA Cy Vance Jr.?
Well, he certainly wants New Yorkers to think so.
Vance last week showed up in person at the arraignments of more than 30 gang members charged in the violence — after instructing prosecutors not to offer the standard pretrial probation to those arrested on minor charges.
It was a nice touch — seemingly serving notice to judges, prosecutors and thugs alike that Vance wants no quarter given in the fight against violence and public disorder.
Assuming he keeps the pressure on when the cameras are off, that is.
Thus, it wasn’t entirely reassuring Thursday when Vance played another game of courtroom peek-a-boo — this time, actually participating in the proceedings to tout what he terms an effort to fight administrative backlog.
Theatrics have a place in defining the continuing debate, to be sure.
But priorities, please.
After all, the Times Square rampage, in which four bystanders were shot, wasn’t just criminal on its own terms. It was also a frightening reminder of New York’s not-so-distant past — in which the forces of law and order had effectively ceded control of the streets.
Winning them back required constant insistence — from both cops and prosecutors — that even the smallest quality-of-life crimes would not be tolerated.
Vance’s predecessor, the legendary Robert Morgenthau, understood this. Yet with crime (then) at all-time lows, Vance spent much of last year’s campaign promising instead to address the “root causes” of criminal activity.
Well, we’re not sure about root causes, but crime’s proximate cause is most often the criminal’s belief that he can get away with it.
Meanwhile, crime has started creeping back, with shootings up some 20% over last year.
This trend will only accelerate if thugs come to believe that Times Square is once again open for business — and it’s Vance’s job to see that they don’t.
Thus far, he seems to be taking that duty seriously.
Keep it up, Mr. District Attorney.