Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Independent Monitor Will Oversee The NYPD's Spying
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jan 7, 2016
Modified Jan 7, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Christian Hansen / Gothamist
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jan 7, 2016
Modified Jan 7, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The NYPD has agreed to allow an independent monitor to oversee its secret counterterrorism investigations to ensure that the police aren’t illegally gathering intelligence on political or religious activity.
Until just a few weeks ago, the NYPD had argued that their spying was above-board—despite two Gothamist reports detailing how a female undercover detective infiltrated student groups for Muslims and people of color at Brooklyn College. Though the detective maintained her cover for years, at least until early 2015, none of the students were charged with any wrongdoing.
Black Lives Matter and Occupy Wall Street protesters also reported being watched and questioned by the police with no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
Today’s agreement will place an independent attorney appointed by the mayor on a committee that will review investigations like these, and explicitly prohibits NYPD investigations where “race, religion, or ethnicity is the substantial or motivating factor.”
The agreement also settles two lawsuits: Raza v. City of New York, which was filed in part by the NYCLU in 2013 after a series of AP reports revealed the NYPD’s blanket surveillance of Muslims in New York, and Handschu v. City of New York, filed in 1971 to stop the NYPD’s “Red Squads” from spying on political groups like the Blank Panthers.
“This has always been about whoever is the other of the moment, the suspicion-raising other in society. It’s been the Jew, the Italian, the Communist and African-Americans at various stages,” Jethro Eisenstein, one of the original attorneys on the Handschu case, told the Times.
The Handschu litigation had been guiding the NYPD’s surveillance activities in New York City, which included independent oversight, until the NYPD argued and won its removal after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001.
The City admits no wrongdoing in the settlements (which still have to be approved by a judge), but they do restore much of the oversight lost after 9/11.
“We have nothing to hide,” Lawrence Byrne, NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Legal Matters told the Times. “And if this adds transparency and a level of public trust that we’re continuing to keep the city safe, but in a lawful way, we welcome and embrace that.”
Arthur Eisenberg, the NYCLU’s legal director and lead attorney in the Handschu suit, said in a statement, “This settlement is a win for all New Yorkers. It will curtail practices that wrongly stigmatize individuals simply on the basis of their religion, race or ethnicity. At the same time, the NYPD's investigative practices will be rendered more effective by focusing on criminal behavior.”
A similar suit to Raza, filed in New Jersey against the NYPD (the NYPD spied on Muslims all over the east coast) by the Center for Constitutional Rights and Muslim Advocates, Hassan v. City of New York, is still set to be litigated.
You can read the changes to the Handschu guidelines below, courtesy of a release from the NYPD.
Current and Proposed Modifications of Handschu Guidlines
Tagged
handschu decree
muslim spying
nypd demographics
NYPD Intel divison
original
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Queens man charged with hate crime at Jewish-owned bagel shop displaying Israeli flags
Prosecutors say the 22-year-old damaged property outside the Fresh Meadows shop twice in May.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 19, 2026 at 6:07 p.m. ET
MTA train yards are in such bad shape plants are growing out of the roof, watchdog says
In some cases, the damage was “clearly not recent."
By
Stephen Nessen
News
MTA train yards are in such bad shape plants are growing out of the roof, watchdog says
In some cases, the damage was “clearly not recent."
By
Stephen Nessen
High-ranking NYC officials to testify in ex-buildings boss Eric Ulrich's corruption trial
By
David Brand
Mamdani launches new team to help NYers keep SNAP, Medicaid benefits
By
Caroline Lewis
Riders at 53rd St. station where man was fatally shot say they worry about gun violence
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .