Month: July 2026

For the first time in nearly six years, the NYPD’s independent oversight entity, the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) has a permanent chair in Jennifer Jones Austin, an anti-poverty champion and advisor to multiple mayoral administrations.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani named Jones Austin as CCRB chair Friday morning, saying that she would lead the agency with “integrity, compassion and an unwavering commitment to justice.”

“Trust between government and the communities we serve lay at the heart of public safety,” Jones Austin said in a statement following the announcement. “It is our responsibility as public servants to deepen trust by promoting transparency and integrity through our every action.”

Mamdani said Jones Austin would advance his administration’s “whole of government” approach to public safety by bringing a background in social justice to police accountability. 

“Jennifer Jones Austin has spent her career standing with New Yorkers who are too often shut out of the halls of power,” he said. “She understands that public safety and accountability go hand in hand, and that trust must be earned through action.”

Jones Austin currently serves as CEO and executive director of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA), an economic security advocacy and policy group. She’s also vice chair of the board of Reverend Al Sharpton’s National Action Network (NAN), a leading criminal justice and police accountability organization.

Through Jones Austin’s work at NAN, Sharpton said, she had fought for police accountability while building bridges with law enforcement to foster reform from within.

“Jennifer understands that meaningful change requires both accountability and partnership — working outside the system to demand justice while engaging inside the system to achieve lasting reform,” Sharpton said. “She brings the experience, credibility, and judgment this moment demands.”

Jones Austin’s appointment follows a series of high-profile public safety decisions out of City Hall, including retaining Jessica Tisch as police commissioner, whom Mamdani’s predecessor, Eric Adams, had appointed in November 2024. In keeping Tisch, Mamdani credited her with bringing stability and reform to the NYPD, but the decision rankled a number of his supporters who had hoped the new mayor would start fresh.  

Mamdani has faced continued criticism from his base over public safety compromises that have deviated from campaign promises. As a mayoral candidate, he seemed to indicate that he would ensure the CCRB had the final word in recommending disciplinary action against police officers found to have acted in violation of their legal duties. After his election, however, he clarified his position to say that he believed the CCRB’s recommendations should be “taken seriously.”

Chapter 18, section 440 of the city charter states that the CCRB has the power to “receive, investigate, hear, make findings and recommend action upon complaints” against members of the police force, and that these recommendations will be “submitted to the police commissioner.”

amNewYork reached out to the NYPD for comment about the new CCRB chair, and is awaiting a response.

The Police Benevolent Association (PBA), the labor union representing the NYPD, reserved judgment on Jones Austin’s appointment, noting the frequent changes in CCRB leadership over the past three years. Representatives, however, said they were more concerned with the overall “anti-police” direction that they believe the CCRB is heading.

“This is an agency that has hired investigators with publicly demonstrated anti-police bias,” PBA President Patrick Hendry said. “It has colluded with anti-police activists to publicize false and unproven allegations in order to destroy police officers’ reputations. It has also consistently pushed to expand its power and erode the NYPD’s disciplinary authority.”

The PBA has been in a fierce dispute with the CCRB over unsubstantiated complaint records that have been made public through freedom of information requests. The PBA contends that the records, which have been published on websites such as 50.a, amount to defamation and have caused actual harm to uniformed officers. The tensions have made the organizations hesitant about working with CCRB leadership going forward.

“We are open to working with Ms. Jones Austin to try to address these issues, but we are not going to accept empty promises,” Hendry said. “There needs to be fundamental change to restore CCRB to the fairness and impartiality required by the City Charter.”

THE KINGS COUNTY SUPREME COURT on Thursday ruled in favor of Brooklyn lawmakers who are trying to stop the conversion of a homeless shelter.

The post Lawmakers fighting homeless shelter conversion win Temporary Restraining Order against city   appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

Why can’t policymakers agree on what the data is telling them and decide if prices are falling fast enough?

The post Americans feel the sting of high prices every day, so why does the Fed need so many ways to measure inflation? appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

These efforts highlight how subsidiarity could give more people a voice in a world that AI is rapidly changing.

The post The Catholic principle guiding popes through tech upheavals, from the Industrial Revolution to AI appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

Around 20,000 unaccompanied minors nationwide are set to lose legal services when the federal government ends a contract Friday.

The post Inside the NYC courtroom where detained children face deportation without attorneys appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL HAS FORMALLY APPEALED the Trump administration’s denial of New York’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration.

The post NY Governor appeals FEMA denial of aid for February blizzard   appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

The city has many hiking trails where you can spot birds on your lonesome, no club needed, year-round. Pack long socks and bug spray.

The post A beginner’s guide to birding in New York City appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.