Day: January 19, 2025

Байден выступил по поводу освобождения заложников граждан и иностранцев захваченных Хамасом в Израиле и прекращении огня в Газе 19 января 2025 с переводом субтитров на […]

The NYPD and a Brooklyn theater group founded following the killing of Eric Garner are celebrating 10 years of bridging relationships between police and the community.

Dubbed “To Protect, Serve, and Understand” (TPSU), the drama program annually connects seven cops and seven community members where they do more than act in a theater. Both groups meet before rehearsals to discuss challenging subjects they face on either side of the spectrum and “step into each other’s shoes.”

On Jan. 17, the NYPD and locals celebrated the milestone at the Irondale, 85 South Oxford St. For Susan Herman, the founding commissioner of collaborative policing, TPSU is the perfect way to improve communication between officers and civilians through the arts, which focus on non-enforcement ways to resolve disputes.

“I saw this as a terrific opportunity for both community members and police officers to develop more empathy, better communication skills and a way of strengthening listening, the most foundational skill of all,” Herman said.

The killing of Eric Garner at the hands of police officers on Staten Island widened the growing gap between community members and the NYPD. The initiative, which was founded in 2015, sought to rebuild relationships following Garner’s senseless death through open-minded discussion regarding their respective roles.

These workshops continued over ten weeks, where officers sang, played, and worked on their communication skills. These meetings culminate with a public performance showcasing how both groups have cultivated an everlasting relationship steeped in mutual respect, trust, and empathy.

On Jan. 17 and Jan. 18, TPSU held a public performance for their signature project at the Irondale.

Deputy Chief at Community Affairs Bureau Victoria Perry cheered on the effort during the performance and stated that she looks forward to the program’s future 20th anniversary.

“When something is going to benefit the people that we protect and serve every day, then let’s do it. We’re going to continue to do it every single year. This is 10 years, and we hope that we’ll be standing here again for the 20-year reunion…We’re committed to this program. We’re committed to serving the public and community affairs. Will do it every day no matter what,” Perry said.

Past performances have been attended and supported by Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, who observed rehearsals in the days leading up to the 10-year anniversary.

A slew of prominent New York lawmakers urged incoming President Donald Trump on Sunday to remove the SALT property tax deduction cap a day before he takes office.

The Empire State’s two senators — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand — joined Reps. Jerrold Nadler, Laura Gillen and Dan Goldman at a Jan. 19 press conference where they lambasted the federal SALT program as an onerous burden on New York taxpayers.

“SALT is just an anchor around the necks of New Yorkers, middle-class New Yorkers, firefighters, police officers, teachers, government workers, and small business owners. They all have to pay more taxes because of what Donald Trump and the Republican Senate did in 2017,” Schumer said. “Let’s not forget there was Donald Trump and congressional Republicans who created the SALT cap in 2017 to begin with.”

SALT was a federal program that allowed itemizing filers to deduct state and local tax payments from their federal taxes, putting money back in their pockets. The cap was instituted in 2017 as part of Trump’s tax cut plan that year, which largely benefited the wealthiest Americans.

Gillibrand did not mince words Sunday when taking aim at the incoming president, putting the blame on Trump and fellow Republicans for keeping the SALT cap and costing New York taxpayers of all political stripes their hard-earned money.

“We are calling on President-elect Donald Trump and the congressional Republicans to fix the problem they created that has taken money out of New Yorkers‘ pockets for years,” Gillibrand said. “In 2017, Republicans imposed a $10,000 cap on SALT deductions, essentially robbing middle-class families in states like New York to pay the tax cuts for the uber-wealthy. The SALT production cap has cost New Yorkers as much as $12 billion every year since it took it back to 2018.”

Gillibrand charged that in order for Trump to take action on the tax, he would simply have to let the cap expire at the end of the year.

According to Politico, Trump may not go as far as eliminating the SALT cap, but he is open to reducing its burden. He reportedly told New York Republicans he is willing to negotiate a “fair number.”

“The president certainly wants to increase the deduction for SALT to provide more relief, because he knows that our mayors and governors are crushing taxpayers,” Brooklyn/Staten Island Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis told Politico.

Meanwhile, Goldman is urging Republicans to put their money where their mouths are and keep promises made on the campaign trail.

“With Trump’s Republican Party in full control of Washington, it is up to New York House Republicans to stand by their campaign promises and permanently reinstate the full SALT deduction,” Goldman said. “There are no excuses: you either deliver for your constituents, or you don’t.”