The crowd exiting the Whitehall Ferry Terminal was treated to
a sight normally seen in the Times Square area: a number of black
men dressed in Middle Eastern garb representing a group called
the Twelve Tribes of Ancient Israel. The man on the makeshift
platform with the microphone was arguing with a white woman who
gesticulated angrily. "If you don't like what I'm saying,
take it up with the NYPD," he said confidently, his
aide-de-camp waving papers at the woman. The group's remarks
often generate anger and accusations that they are hate speech
clothed in biblical references, but this time the speaker went
off topic.
"Who's your mayor now? Is it Bloomberg? He's just a
businessman. He don't care about you. He's got his radio show and
his business, but he don't care about the little guy," the
man said, capturing the attention of passers-by. "Now
Giuliani had ... us arrested. You gotta give him credit for
that," he said.
The man thus pinpointed a major difference between the two
administrations: Mayor Giuliani attacked quality of life crimes
by going after the criminal type, while Mayor Bloomberg attacks
petty crimes by collaring regular citizens, imposing heavy fines
on those who can pay them.
A woman is given a ticket for putting her bag on the seat next to
her in an empty subway car. Meanwhile, the derelicts are back
sleeping on several seats, but because there's no point in
issuing them summonses they remain undisturbed. Parking fines are
being increased again in July. Sanitation fines also target
law-abiding homeowners who put trash out on the wrong day or too
early before pickup. Ashtrays on the counters? That's a no-no,
too.
Mr. Giuliani may not have taken over the Board of Education, as
Mr. Bloomberg did, but he encouraged 530 2174 626 2185
support of the inner city scholarship programs that provided
access to private schools. Mr. Bloomberg, on the other hand, is
always seeking additional money for the public schools, which
perform poorly even with a $14 billion budget.
Then there's the gun control legislation that Mr. Bloomberg is
hawking, delighting advocates who ignore statistics that
discredit such laws. No matter how many laws are passed to
control the sales, ownership, or distribution of guns, criminals
will bypass them. Lawabiding citizens in New York cannot obtain
legal arms to defend themselves against the lawless, and that is
frightening to potential victims.
As the son of Holocaust survivors, Ralph Rubinek is acutely aware
of how governments can strip the citizen's right to bear arms.The
National Rifle Association member sent me a link to a video of a
recent Klu Klux Klan rally where the speakers blamed the oil
crisis, unemployment, and the war in Iraq on the Jews. It was
disgusting to see these morons chant "Seig Heil" over
and over.
It would be easy for some to debunk Mr.Rubinek's anxiety about
such events as unfounded paranoia if one didn't remember the
three-day pogrom in Crown Heights during the Dinkins
administration in which blacks roamed the streets shouting
"kill the Jews." Mr. Giuliani made such an event
unthinkable. Anti-Semitism is on the rise all over the world as
haters blame the Iraqi war on Israel and the Jews. How can any
Jewish person not understand the importance of the Second
Amendment?
Although Mr. Giuliani was not popular with civil libertarians
before September 11, 2001, he helped bring about ethnic peace in
New York City because he fostered a universal standard of
decency.The quality of life policing methods he promoted with his
first chief of police, William Bratton, was applied impartially,
to all offenders. In spite of the hue and cry by civil rights
groups, minorities actually benefited from these tactics, as
crime fell dramatically in their communities.
I once read that all crime is committed by only 3% of the
population; that percentage was targeted by the NYPD in the
Giuliani administration. Despite reports that crime is down in
New York, the city doesn't feel safe. A homeless man this week
confessed to stabbing four people, including two Canadian
tourists in the Times Square area and a Texan on a C subway
train. Meanwhile the mayor goes after smokers, paint that adheres
to metal, junk food in bodegas, and restaurant menus. These
tactics may make statements, but they don't accomplish much.
Those men spouting hatred from that podium are rejoicing that Mr.
Giuliani is no longer mayor.
I'm not.