Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Bloomberg: When It Comes To Stop-And-Frisk, NYCLU No Better Than NRA
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 16, 2012
Modified Jul 16, 2012
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 .
NYC Mayor's Office Flickr
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 16, 2012
Modified Jul 16, 2012
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
Mayor Bloomberg lined up the NYCLU in his crosshairs yesterday and blasted the organization with both triggers. During a visit to the Allen A.M.E. Cathedral in Queens, the mayor delivered a speech addressing the wave of violence that gripped the city in recent weeks, hitting its nadir with the shooting of 3-year-old Isaiah Rivera in a Bed-Stuy playground. After discussing his administration's efforts to reduce crime and get guns off the streets, Bloomberg turned to the NYCLU, which has filed a lawsuit to stop the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy:
Let’s be clear, the NYCLU’s priority is not protecting our safety. It is protecting their ideology. And in that regard, they are no better than the NRA. One group views the Second Amendment in absolutist terms; the other group views the Fourth Amendment in absolutist terms. Both groups, I think, are dangerously wrong on the Constitution. The right to bear arms and the right to privacy do not trump the right of citizens to walk down their own street, or walk down their own hallway, without getting blown away. You’d think that would be common sense!
In response, NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman fired off a statement saying, "It's a lot easier to trash the NYCLU than to acknowledge the widespread dissatisfaction the community feels with an NYPD that acts like it's above the law and accountable to no one. Today, more than 1,800 New Yorkers will be stopped and frisked by NYPD officers. Tomorrow, more than 1,800 New Yorkers will be stopped and frisked by NYPD officers. The day after that, more than 1,800 New Yorkers will be stopped and frisked by NYPD officers. Every day this year, more than 1,800 New Yorkers will be stopped and frisked by NYPD officers.
"This is not about an argument between the mayor and the NYCLU. This is about the humiliation, frustration and disrespect felt by New Yorkers from communities of color every day as they are subject to the mayor's stop-and-frisk regime." Lieberaman also wondered why the mayor is singling out the NYCLU, when many other organizations and leaders have criticized stop-and-frisk. The Center for Constitutional Rights, for instance, has also filed a lawsuit against the city on behalf of four plaintiffs who say they were unlawfully stopped by police.
Tagged
bloomberg
gun violence
NRA
nyclu
stop and frisk
original
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NY measles spread prompts 'disaster' emergency. It didn't have to be this way, health commissioner says.
The state health commissioner says the disease outbreak is wholly preventable.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
Published Oct 12, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. ET
NYC wants to move deliveries onto the waterways. It's starting with a 55-year-old boat.
The city's "blue highways" program aims to get freight out of trucks and onto the waterways.
By
Liam Quigley
News
NYC wants to move deliveries onto the waterways. It's starting with a 55-year-old boat.
The city's "blue highways" program aims to get freight out of trucks and onto the waterways.
By
Liam Quigley
Inside the luxury Greenpoint high-rise powered by a rumbling generator for over a month
By
David Brand
Mayor Mamdani orders review of NYPD use of force policies
By
Michael Sol Warren
Company that won $23M NYPD building contract was investigated by LI watchdog
By
Ben Feuerherd
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 .