Ep 8: Anthonine Pierre - Policing and Transit in New York

High Frequency

In 2019, New York’s MTA announced a plan to hire 500 additional police officers, citing the need to reduce fare evasion. Transit advocates, community organizers, and police reformers quickly pointed out the racially discriminatory patterns of fare enforcement, and that the additional police presence would lead to more discriminatory enforcement within the system. Analysis of NYPD data by the Community Service Society demonstrates that fare summonses and arrests are disproportionately issued in high-poverty Black neighborhoods.

In this episode, Brooklyn Movement Center Deputy Director Anthonine Pierre discusses how over-policing limits the movement of Black and brown New Yorkers, particularly on public transit. BMC is a community organizing group based in Central Brooklyn, and a member of Communities United for Police Reform, which recently led the #NYCBudgetJustice campaign to reallocate funding from NYPD to social services and public infrastructure.

“We really want to zero into the kinds of policing that people don't often see but feel... That means Black and brown folks being harassed for standing on a sidewalk and being told that they're loitering... We find that rules about how people can move freely in public spaces are often enforced more harshly on people of color.”

TransitCenter’s TransitTool on Policing + Transit can be accessed here

For more on Brooklyn Movement Center's “Defund the NYPD” campaign, click here

Disclaimer: Political views raised by guests on the podcast do not reflect the views of TransitCenter.

Music: “Comma” - Blue Dot Sessions

Hosted and edited by Kapish Singla

Produced by TransitCenter