City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito on Monday introduced a series of bills aimed at cutting criminal arrests for quality-of-life violations — and even suggested wiping out open warrants for some offenders to clear a backlog.
Mark-Viverito, whose bills call for civil summonses instead of criminal arrests for nonviolent offenses such public urination and drinking, floated the idea of taking many of the 1.5 million outstanding warrants off the books.
“There’s a lot more work to have to do,” she said. “I mean, we’re talking about open warrants that go back to 1980 and people might not be fully aware that they have them.”
The overall reforms are needed, she added, because black and Hispanic New Yorkers are arrested at a disproportionate rate compared with whites.
The NYPD would still be able to charge people criminally if police believe it’s warranted, but it would be expected to focus on civil, as opposed to criminal, violations.
Beyond public drinking and urination, the council’s plan — dubbed The Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2016 — would give cops the option of issuing civil summonses instead of making criminal arrests for littering, breaking certain rules in city parks, such as walking on newly seeded grass or unauthorized possession of gardening tools, and failing to appear in court.
One part would also create a new civil violation: spitting in public.
Some politicians questioned parts of the package.
“Offenses that impact the quality of life should carry criminal penalties, [and that] includes public urination,” said Public Advocate Letitia James. “It’s an issue of basic decency.”
But Mayor de Blasio, speaking at an unrelated news conference, assured New Yorkers the city won’t ignore threats.
“We take public urination very seriously,” he said.
It was unclear when votes would be held.
The violations would be handled by the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, but Bronx Democrats Jimmy Vacca and Andrew Cohen said that office could be overwhelmed. Cohen also questioned the wisdom of voiding old warrants.
“If someone doesn’t answer a summons, there should be consequences,” Cohen said.