Mayor Eric Adams has vetoed a bill requiring NYPD officers to publicly disclose all of their investigatory encounters with civilians — a decision that will set the stage for a battle with the City Council.
The mayor has been conspicuous in his opposition to the bill, speaking out against it at a recent bar mitzvah and scolding his allies in the real estate industry for not being more vocal in the fight against the measure. The bill, which was passed in December, requires officers to provide data on low-level encounters that do not involve suspicion of criminal activity and is designed to increase transparency around police stops.
The mayor argues the bill’s documentation rules would overly burden police officers with additional work and jeopardize public safety.
“Good intentions, but the practical implementation is challenging,” Adams said Friday at a press conference at City Hall. “Every minute counts on the scene.”
NYPD officials, including Patrick Hendry, the head of the city’s largest police union, flanked the mayor in an show of political support. Members of the city’s business community also attended the event, including Kathryn Wylde, who heads the business advocacy group Partnership for New York City.
Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Yusef Salaam, the Council’s new public safety chair, issued a joint statement accusing the mayor of creating a “false narrative” and misleading the public about the transparency bill.
“At a time when one out of every four stops made by the mayor’s new police unit has been found to be unconstitutional, and civilian complaints are at their highest level in more than a decade, the mayor is choosing to fight to conceal information from the public,” they said.
His decision will now trigger an override vote next month by the Council, which passed the bill last month in a 35-9 vote.
The 51-member Council, which entered a new session with four new members this year, will need 34 votes to override the mayor’s…
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