Former Governor Cuomo’s recent criticism of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s decisions regarding the case against Donald Trump and his handling of protestors at Columbia University has stirred controversy in New York City. Prominent figures including Congressman Charles Rangel, NAACP NY President Hazel Dukes, former New York State Comptroller Carl McCall, and President and CEO of The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, Lloyd Williams, have responded to Governor Cuomo through an op-ed article. Read below.
Dear Former Governor Cuomo,
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We have known you and your family, and collaborated with you throughout your career in public service, for years. We’ve worked together, broken bread together, and fought side-by-side together on a range of critical issues. Through all the ups and downs, we’ve always managed to find common ground.
That’s why we were so surprised, disappointed, and angered by your recent op-ed on antisemitism that singled-out for criticism Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg, the first Black person to hold this prestigious position.
We strongly condemn the terrorist attacks that occurred on October 7, and all subsequent antisemitism and targeted violence that has occurred across the city, including at college campuses, since that awful day. D.A. Bragg does as well. He attended the UJA Federation & JCRC rally on October 10 and joined elected leaders at Congregation Ansche Chesed to mourn and pray. But you not only ignored or got flat-out wrong so many truths about D.A. Bragg’s career commitment to fighting hate and antisemitism; you also mysteriously ignored virtually identical charging decisions in very similar situations by several white prosecutors across the state.
The sad truth is many in New York and across the country have made the cynical decision to bolster themselves and their political ambitions with false smears against D.A. Bragg. He’s been vilified unfairly in the national media; deluged with vile racist attacks, and bomb and death threats for simply doing his job; and routinely attacked by anyone and everyone seemingly looking for a quick, cheap headline to advance themselves. We fear that your recent op-ed is a craven replication of the worst, basest instincts of other self-serving politicians, because of so much you got wrong, and so much you left out.
For instance, if you had taken the time to gather all the facts, you would have learned that:
- There are more than 30 protest cases still ongoing at both Columbia University and City College, including felony charges of Assault in the Second Degree and charges related to trespass and burglary.
- D.A. Bragg’s Office conducted a joint investigation with NYPD and charged Anas Saleh for Coercion in the Third Degree for threatening “Zionist” passengers on the subway on June 10.
- In coordination with the NYPD, his Office thwarted a terrorist attack on the Jewish community and indicted two individuals who had spoken about shooting up a synagogue.
- He has charged people who have vandalized synagogues, attacked Israeli tourists, shouted antisemitic comments on the street and assaulted Jews who have worn religious necklaces.
- The District Attorney has a clear record of being tough on Hate Crimes. One of the first things he did was secure $1.7 million funding from the city to significantly expand the resources available to the Office’s Hate Crimes Unit.
- The D.A. has publicly said that under his leadership, hate crimes prosecutions have increased 41% from 2021 to 2023, to address the rise in both antisemitic attacks and all bias-motivated crimes, and that their docket is at an all-time high.
- He recently championed newly enacted legislation to expand the number of hate crimes offenses in the penal code which resulted in 28 new crimes being added to the statute.
- D.A. Bragg’s office conducted dozens of hate crimes trainings with community leaders and institutions across the borough and trained new NYPD recruits on best practices for responding to hate crimes.
Moreover, D.A. Bragg approached the Columbia University student protest cases in similar ways as the DA’s from Suffolk and Westchester counties – where large numbers of student protest cases were dismissed – including some for trespassing charges, and as it turns out, who are both white. Similar outcomes occurred for protesters at University at Buffalo (Erie) and Cornell University (Tompkins) as well. It’s curious you chose to focus on D.A. Bragg and D.A. Bragg alone.
As you well know, there is a long history of antisemitism and anti-Black racism going hand in hand. We see this with the “Great Replacement Theory” on the right, the conspiracy theory that Jews are masterminding an effort to replace white people with immigrants and Black people. This despicable belief motivated both the Tops supermarket shooting in Buffalo and the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh. Singling out a Black district attorney with spurious allegations of antisemitism and stoking division between Black people and Jews only bolsters the equal-opportunity bigots who hate both groups. Our communities are all safer when we stand together in solidarity, supporting each other and opposing all forms of intolerance.
D.A. Bragg is doing a good job as Manhattan District Attorney: crime is down in Manhattan and the borough is driving the overall Citywide decline New York has been recently experiencing. For the good of the borough, the city, and the country, we won’t be silent if you take cheap shots against D.A. Bragg.
Signed,
Former Congress Member Charlie B. Rangel
Dr. Hazel Dukes, President, NYS NAACP
H. Carl McCall, Former NYS State Comptroller
Lloyd Williams, CEO, the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce
