As New York reels, its top politicians clash on response

After New York City experienced another night of protests and looting in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, the governor and mayor on Tuesday renewed their long-running antagonism.

The two Democratic politicians have tried to balance their support of peaceful protests and the pain and anger resulting from the death of Floyd — a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25 — with keeping order in the city.

But a rift over the approach emerged on Tuesday.

"The NYPD and the mayor did not do their job last night. I believe that," Cuomo said during a news briefing in Albany. "The police in New York City were not effective in doing their job last night. Period."

The governor said that Mayor Bill de Blasio "underestimates the scope of the problem" and should "use 38,000 [NYPD] cops" — the entire ranks of the department — to quell the unrest.

Police have complained that they are not getting the political support needed to do their jobs.

In an interview on Fox News, city Police Commissioner Dermot Shea called Cuomo's remarks "disgraceful" and defended the mayor's response.

"I can tell you definitively that he has the backs of the men and women of this police department," Shea said. "And again, what we need is probably less press conferences by many people and more support … and making difficult decisions that may not be the most popular."

In response to a reporter's question about the police response, de Blasio said: "There is no such thing as being able to loot with impunity. I am so sick of these efforts to mischaracterize reality. I'll go right back at you and everyone else who wants to mischaracterize reality."

A statement released Tuesday evening by a spokesman for the governor said that Cuomo respected the NYPD rank and file but still questioned the mayor having only 8,000 officers on patrol Monday.

The NYPD said it had made 700 arrests on Monday, with several officers injured and numerous police vehicles damaged.

The city had implemented a one-day, 11 pm-5 am curfew on Monday night, but it did not deter break-ins at retail stores — including at the venerable Macy's in Herald Square — many of which already were boarded up with plywood.

The curfew was widened on Tuesday from 8 pm-5 am and will remain in effect through Sunday.

High-end retail stores also were looted on consecutive nights in two of the city's ritziest areas: SoHo on Sunday, and Fifth and Madison avenues in Midtown Manhattan on Monday.

The protests continued Tuesday, but as of 7 pm, there were no serious incidents reported. News reports said hundreds of protesters had gathered outside the mayor's residence, Gracie Mansion, on Tuesday evening.

Group protesting Floyd's death are also concerned that the incidents and looting are distracting from the issue of police treatment of black people. Some peaceful protesters have stepped in to prevent looting.

Macy's, along with other retailers nationwide, has been reeling from the shutdowns resulting from the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the United States. The US has the most cases and deaths from COVID-19, and New York City has been the epicenter of the outbreak in the country.

Neither de Blasio nor Cuomo has called for the National Guard to be deployed to the city and other parts of the state, even though President Donald Trump, who was born in the city, has cajoled them for not doing so.

On Tuesday, Trump tweeted: "Macy's at 34th. Street, long the largest single department store anywhere in the world, & a point of pride in NYC, was devastated yesterday when hoodlums and thieves vandalized it, breaking almost all of its large panels of storefront glass. What a shame. Bring in National Guard!"

De Blasio tweeted in response: "We do not need the National Guard to come into New York City. When outside armed forces come into communities, especially these intense situations they have not been trained for, that's a dangerous scenario."

De Blasio has not hesitated to criticize the New York Police Department, starting with his first term in 2014. But in times of crisis, he has backed the NYPD in public.

The NYPD has a reputation for its ability to control large gatherings, but the police have complained about insufficient political support. In what was seen by some as an attempt to embarrass the mayor, the NYPD earlier this week released information about the arrest of de Blasio's daughter for participating in one of the protests.

NYPD Chief Terence Monahan, who said he was "extremely outraged" by Cuomo's comments, told the New York Post that he had slept for only three hours since the fifth night of protests.

"Our guys are tired, they're bleeding," said Monahan, a Bronx native. "I think everyone you're going to see is walking around cut up. But they're out there again tonight.

"They're out there giving their blood to keep this city safe.I'm watching my men and women out there dealing with stuff that no cop should ever have to deal with, bricks, bottles, rocks," he said.

Even before the pandemic and the protests, New Yorkers were lamenting a decline in the quality of life in the city, with conditions in the subway a prominent issue. This year, the state Legislature in Albany also enacted bail reform, and many offenders who commit what the state considers non-serious crimes do not have to post bail.

De Blasio has been a proponent of reducing the inmate population at the city's notorious Rikers Island jail. Some suspects arrested for street crimes can be released on the same day without bail, and that also would be the case for those charged with looting.

The bail reform push came about because some who cannot afford bail were kept at jails such as Rikers for relatively minor crimes, such as jumping subway turnstiles.

"Because of bail reform, you're back out on the street the next day," Monahan told the Post. "You cannot be held on any sort of bail. I spoke to (Manhattan District Attorney) Cy Vance about that. He told me there was nothing he could do."

Complicating matters in particular for de Blasio is that there have been videotaped incidents of police roughing up protesters.

New York City is coping with a double whammy, with all its major attractions closed due to the pandemic, and now another of its tourist draws, high-end shopping, under duress.

For a world city like New York, public safety is always a concern, and one that politicians and law enforcement will be pressed to guarantee.