Hi Neighbor,
There’s a debate these days over the public’s right to know.
That means, of course, your right to know.
Our government doesn’t seem to want you to know what it deems you shouldn’t know. Sort of a “what you don’t know won’t hurt you” philosophy.
Over at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has declared that you should only know what he wants you to know about the military. So he demanded that press people sign a document limiting their reporting to only the news the Defense Department hands out.
If reporters refused to sign? Their press credentials were revoked, and they were kicked out of the Pentagon building. Just one signed – One America News Network, which happens to be a fan of Donald Trump. Even Fox and Newsmax.
Then there’s the news coming out of the Oval Office. A lot of it is pretty twisted, and when the press reports something the commander-in-chief doesn’t like, it’s labeled “fake news.” And lest we forget, the Associated Press is barred from the White House briefing room because editors there wouldn’t call the Gulf of Mexico Trump’s Gulf of America.
What’s chilling is so many Americans buying into it.
But we’re here today to talk about something closer to home. My partner-in-opinion Tom Wrobleski discussed it last week, too.
The mayor and New York City Police Department decided in to “encrypt” NYPD police radio calls on Staten Island. We aren’t alone. The rest of the city is shut out, too.
So in February, police scanner chatter went dark.
Their reasoning is the theory that the bad guys could monitor the transmissions and know where the good guys are at any time.
Most of our neighbors probably don’t spend evenings listening to police radio chatter, so why should you care?
Because we did, the reporters and editors at the Advance/SILive.com. It’s the best, and often the only way we can get you news of crime happening in your neighborhood.
That you should care about.
The above photo taken from a surveillance video depicts a male punching a 62-year-old man in the head on July 15, 2024. Courtesy, Alarmingly AffordableThird-Party-Submitted
The attack occurred on Howard Avenue near Clove Road in Sunnyside on July 15, 2024.Google
Last year, a 17-year-old was shot in the leg in a park across from McKee High School in St. George. The only way our reporters found out about it was a tip from a reader.
Imagine. The only source of news for parents, St. George residents and businesspeople about a shooting outside a high school could well have been from unverified, unreliable rumors on social media.
Not long after, a 62-year-old man was brutally attacked by a mob of teens on Clove Road near Howard Avenue in Sunnyside. He was bloodied and lost teeth. The mob attacked him just for the sake of attacking.
This time, it took a week for a concerned Staten Islander to call, wondering why the attack was never reported or why no arrests were made.
Our reporters got into it, the borough president then condemned it and suddenly, the NYPD was all over it. Two were arrested a month later.
The NYPD closed a portion of Richmond Hill Road after an accident. (Staten Island Advance/Joseph Ostapiuk)
And it’s not only about crime. It could be a major car accident that shuts down Hylan Boulevard. Or a missing child. Or something weather-related that the NYPD is responding to, like downed wires, icy and unpassable roads or neighborhood flooding.
The NYPD will tell you they have an Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Public Information (DCPI), and all news inquiries should be directed there.
Sounds good. It’s not. DCPI deals with the five boroughs and as you might guess, Staten Island is not always high on the priority list.
There is a solution. Right now, there is a bill on Gov. Hochul’s desk called Keep Police Radio Public Act, just waiting for her to do something with it.
The Assembly passed it in an 85-61 vote, as did the state Senate in a 38-22 vote. If you’re keeping score, our Republican representatives voted against it and our Democratic representatives voted for it. The Republicans – except Sen. Andrew Lanza – said they would have supported the bill if it called for a 10-minute delay in transmission of police calls.
All it needs is the governor’s signature and the NYPD would be forced to allow emergency service organizations like volunteer ambulances and journalists to again have access. She has until December 31 to make a decision.
That’s 73 more days you’ll be kept in the dark. And if she doesn’t sign it?
It’s just another step in government controlling what you are allowed to know in a country founded upon freedom.
Some called it Totalitarianism.
Brian
Oh by the way: “Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella today issued a statement condemning hate in all its forms and calling on Democratic leaders to hold their own accountable for rhetoric and actions that undermine decency and public trust.” So read a press release from the BP’s office in the wake of a report of some very ugly alleged comments made in a text thread among some of the nation’s top young GOP leaders, including at least three Staten Islanders. The rest of the Staten Island GOP, as well as Staten Island Democrats, called for the same as the BP. I just wish the GOP would demand their leader, Donald J. Trump, to do the same. Perhaps you’ll recall his pronouncement at the memorial for Charlie Kirk. “He did not hate his opponents,” Trump said. “I hate my opponents and I don’t want the best for them. I can’t stand my opponents . . .” Sio much for unifying our nation, Mr. President.
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