Governor Cuomo Responds to Escalating Violence and Looting Amid Otherwise Peaceful Protests

  Yesterday was another long, ugly day and night all across this country. New York State was not an exception. Today is day 94 of the COVID pandemic. It’s day nine of the situation that we’re dealing with, with the killing of Mr. Floyd. And this is the first time that we’ve spoken about these two situations that we’re dealing with now at the same time. And I think, at this moment of confusion and unrest, the smartest thing is to take a step back and let’s gain a little perspective and let’s just talk as people about this situation. 

So, what do we do? First, take a step back, gain some perspective, and separate the issues. You want this solved? Let’s understand what we’re trying to solve for first. COVID-19. Let’s take that issue and pull it out. On the COVID-19 issue, day 94, we have more good news today. Number of hospitalizations is down. Number of new COVID cases walking in the door is at an all-time low – 154. Congratulations to the people of the state of New York. Look at what you did. Look at the progress you made. God bless you.

Buffalo enters Phase II today, Western New York. Capital District should enter Phase II tomorrow, all the numbers indicate that. Our experts are going over the numbers, but there’s no reason to believe that the Capital District doesn’t go into Phase II tomorrow. I fully plan to affirm that later this afternoon. Capital Region will go into Phase II. New York City’s on track, in the midst of all of this, to open Phase I next Monday. Summer day camps are going to open on June 29th. We’re still reviewing the situation with sleep away camps.

So, that’s the COVID situation. That’s going very well. Civil unrest post-Mr. Floyd’s killing – that’s also a complex situation with a number of levels. You have protestors who are outraged at what has happened and you have criminal activity, looting, extremist groups, who are using this moment for their own purposes and exploiting this movement and moment. Two very different things.

On the protestors, they’re outraged. By the way, I agree with them. What happened to Mr. Floyd was a disgrace. It was repugnant to America. It was repugnant to any good policing perspective or strategy or approach. And it’s not just Mr. Floyd, this was not an isolated instance. It goes back to Rodney King and Amadou Diallo and Abner Louima and Eric Garner and cases just like it all across this country. At one point, enough is enough and people say I can’t believe this is still going on after all of this time. Rightful outrage.

By and large, the protestors have been peaceful. They’re upset, they’re angry, yes, but they have not been violent. They have been peaceful protests. What do they want? They want overdue reforms. They want reforms that should’ve been done 30, 40, 50 years ago. They want America to be better. I don’t yet believe we’ve yet specified an agenda, but you know the agenda forward. You know what we should learn from Mr. Floyd’s murder, so he did not die in vain. You need independent investigations of police abuse. You need discovery of records of police who are being investigated. How do you still allow chokeholds in the United States of America? Why can’t you have a national standard of what is excessive force? And I think the justice agenda should even go forward, because it's not just about police abuse. There's injustice in housing, there's injustice in health care, there's injustice in unemployment, there's injustice in income distribution, there's injustice in education. I would make education equity part of that agenda, I would make child poverty part of that agenda, and I wouldn't wait for next year. I think that Congress should pass those laws now. That's all outrage at what happened at Mr. Floyd’s killing, and how do we learn, and move forward, and reform, and that's what the protesters are talking about, and that is what this nation is all about. The right to protest, the right to air grievances, and the right to raise issues so government responds.

That's one situation. There's a totally different situation that has nothing to do with the protesters. People see this moment and they exploit it. And that is criminal activity and that is looting. That is people breaking store windows, going in and stealing. That's called criminal activity. They have no right to wrap themselves in the flag of righteous indignation of Mr. Floyd’s murder. They demean Mr. Floyd’s murder by using this as an opportunity for criminal activity. And that's what they're doing. They're opportunists who are seizing and exploiting the moment.

New York City was looted. It was looted yesterday. In Manhattan, middle of Manhattan, also in communities of color, in the Bronx and in Brooklyn, where we've spent years doing economic development in distressed communities and these looters destroyed businesses that were essential to the community and the very people we're trying to help. That is a very different situation. The police must stop the looting and the criminal activity. That is the essence of the police force. They are supported to protect the community, protect the property. They did not do that in New York City last night. They did not do that in New York City last night. And I am disappointed and outraged at what happened in New York City last night. Those looters, that criminal activity, hurt everyone. In the communities of the protesters, which are the communities that tend to be the poorest communities in New York City. And the police in New York City were not effective at doing their job last night, period. They have to do a better job. But, separate the protesters from the looting.

They are two very different situations with two very different responses, two very different motivations. They're different people, different issues. There is no comparison between those two. The looting, the criminal activity must be stopped immediately, period. Especially in New York City. We've had activity all across the state, all manageable, except in New York City. Now, from the state's point of view, I have offered all the mayors of the cities support, state police support or National Guard or both. We have 13,000 National Guard who are on standby who can be deployed. We have the state police mobilized all across the state. They can be deployed anywhere in this state. State police are working with many cities in upstate New York. New York City has said they don't want or need the National Guard, which would be a large-scale support network that we could bring to New York City.

Most cities have enacted a curfew. The purpose of their curfew is to help the police deal with the looters. The curfew is not about the protesters, as I said, most of the protesters have been peaceful, they have been nonviolent. The curfew is not to harass protesters. It is not to harass law-abiding citizens. The curfews are designed to help the police deal with the looters. New York City had a curfew last night. Obviously, it wasn't enough to help deal with the looters. The other cities also have curfews, different times, different durations, all set locally by the mayors across the state.

But what's happening in this environment with all the politics, with all the anger and rage, all of these issues are getting blurred. COVID-19 is one issue. The outrage over Mr. Floyd’s murder is another issue. The protesters are one issue. Looters are a totally different issue. We can't blur the line between these problems. Otherwise you wind up solving nothing because one is blurring into the other. The protesters are separate from the looters. We have this hyper-political moment. We’re in the middle of an election season so everybody is playing politics, and a lot of people want to say “The looters are the protesters. They’re one. They’re all criminals.” No, they're not. No, they're not. It’s because you don't want to address the Mr. Floyd murder. So it's convenient to say they're all looters.

They’re not all looters. They’re Americans who are outraged at what happened to Mr. Floyd. That’s who they are. There’s racial tension in this country. Suggesting, “Well, the protests are about African Americans who are upset.” Yes, African Americans are upset. But you know what? A lot of white people are upset. I’m white and I’m upset. You look at those videos of the protests in Washington, D.C. Those are young white faces, predominantly. This is not a racial issue in that only African Americans are upset. This is anyone who saw that video is upset – anyone. Don’t make this a racial issue and don't make it a political issue and don't blur the lines for your political purposes.

To the protesters, for tonight, I ask them to be calm, be peaceful, so the police don't have to spend a lot of time with the protesters and the police can do their job with the looting and the criminal activity. I also remind the protesters that their point is very important and their outrage is justified. But keep in mind during this moment when you're going out to protest, we're still in the middle of the COVID pandemic. We’re just reopening Western New York. We’re just reopening the Capital District. We’re going to reopen New York City this coming Monday.  Yes, protest, yes, express your outrage, but be responsible because the last thing we want to do is see a spike in the number of COVID cases, and that is one of the complications of these compounding crises. I know a lot of the protesters are so annoyed they don't want to hear about COVID anymore. “COVID is yesterday's news.” No, COVID is still a problem. And COVID still kills also. So be mindful and respective of that.

MAYOR DE BLASIO on Looting and COVID-19 - June 3,, 2020

  Mayor Bill de Blasio: Well, good morning, everybody. I want to give you an update. The night before last, there were some real problems in the Bronx, in one part of the Bronx in particular. I was on the phone yesterday morning, speaking to the Borough President of the Bronx, Ruben Diaz, Jr. He was out in the street where the violence had occurred, and we were talking about, and he said, I at least want you to know even though we had a tough night, he said, I'm looking at something very positive. There's a lot of young people out here cleaning up. They're out here, because it's their community, they’re out here cleaning up the damage that was done by a very few, a very negative few who don't represent the Bronx, don't represent that neighborhood, don't represent this city. And he said they were cleaning up. He said, it's good to see young people care about their community and are doing something positive. So, I said, well, borough president, what organization are they with? Who organized? He said, let me find out, hold on a moment. And he reaches out, he's got a couple of young people there. He says, hey, excuse me, which organization are you from? And the kids say to him, we're not from any organization. We live here. And these young people, this is their neighborhood, and they are the future of the Bronx, and they are the future of New York City. There are so many good young people in this city who I want to tell, all of them, all the youth of New York City who care about your neighborhoods, care about this city, care about creating a better world, care about creating a more just world. Thank you. Thank you to these young people in the Bronx who wanted to create something positive, even in the midst of a crisis and a challenge, they wanted to move their neighborhood forward.

So, look, it's an example to us all. I went to the scene yesterday, myself later on the day. I met with store owners who had had their stores looted, and I heard their stories. And these are hardworking people. People who epitomizes the heart and soul of New York City. It's a primarily Latino community. Some people own stores who were immigrants. Some grew up in the area. But what they had in common was working people who had created something to serve their own community. And I talked to a lot of store owners in their stores, and I asked them what they were feeling. And they were, they were angry. They were frustrated. They needed help. And then every single one of them said, but we will rebuild, and we will come back, and we're not going anywhere. And I want you all to hear that, because that is the spirit of the Bronx. And that is the spirit of New York City. We're not going anywhere. I was in a neighborhood that went through such tough times, decades ago. And a lot of people I was with yesterday, elected officials, community leaders, store owners, everyday people in the community referenced how tough it had been in the Bronx a few decades ago, and yet, they stood their ground, and they brought the Bronx back and they will do it again. So, this is a setback, but it's not anything that will change the heart and soul of the people of the Bronx, and the people of this city.

Last night, we took a step forward in moving out of this difficult period we've had the last few days of moving to a better time. Just off the phone with Commissioner Shea and First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan, and I want to thank both of them. We have all been talking constantly over these last six days. Both of them have shown tremendous leadership in the midst of this crisis. We went over the facts of last night. We saw a very, very different picture around New York City last night. We still have more work to do. Let me affirm that right up front, we saw a peaceful protest during the day. Yeah, some tense moments, undoubtedly, but overwhelmingly peaceful protest, and the NYPD respecting the peaceful protest. We saw a few incidents where people decided to do something illegal or violent around the protest, but that was rare. We saw some acts in different boroughs of people attempting to attack property, and the NYPD was positioned to address that rapidly. We'll get the exact details out as we get more information in the course of the day, but overwhelmingly, it was a very different reality in New York City last night. And the areas that had been particularly affected in Midtown Manhattan, and in part of the Bronx the night before, did not see that kind of activity in any meaningful number last night.

So, a step forward, and working closely with Commissioner Shea and his team, a series of strategies were employed yesterday. And those strategies I think by in large were effective. Those strategies were created in light of the evidence of what happened from 9:00 PM Sunday through Monday night. Again, things we had not seen previously, adjustments were made. NYPD really stepped back yesterday morning and said, okay, we're dealing with something different here. We have to defend differently. We have to address it differently, and they did. And I want to thank the commissioner and his team. I want to thank the men and women of the NYPD. They've been asked to do a lot the last few days. A lot of them are exhausted from working so hard, but they are going out there doing their job, protecting all of us, and showing a lot of restraint in the process, and that's what we expect. And I want to be clear. Everyone who puts on that uniform takes an oath, agrees to a higher calling, and agrees that restraint will be a part of their life. And keeping the peace means every sense of those words. That's what our officers and their commanders understand. So, we expect a lot of police officers. We expect them to live up to the highest standards of our society. And I saw a lot of good last night, and I want to see that continue. So, I emphasize that the standards, the rules we put in place last night, the curfew beginning at 8:00 PM, and going until 5:00 AM the next morning, that will be in place including Sunday night to 5:00 AM Monday morning. At that point, we hope to lift the curfew, move forward just as we're starting phase one of our restart. We all now need to turn our attention to the hugely important moment coming this Monday, June 8th, where we take phase one of the restart.

We've had conversations now for days, talking to folks at the MTA about how do we do this right. I had a very good conversation a few days ago with the head of the MTA, Pat Foye, constructive conversation. We've offered ideas to the MTA about what we think will make it work better, and we want to partner with the MTA to get done. So, yesterday I put out a vision of what I believed would help us come back safely in terms of our subways and buses, and I know the MTA also released a plan that showed, I think some very real progress. They are looking to do something we need to do. Get that service levels, get the frequency of the trains and buses up to where it would be during normal times. Because that's going to mean enough opportunity to get around, but also that when you get on a subway or bus much greater likelihood, it will not be crowded. I wanted to see hand sanitizer in all stations. They're doing that. I think that's great. I appreciate that. And they're going to do a great effort to get face coverings out. We've already pledged. We will provide a million face coverings. The city of New York will provide a million face coverings working with the MTA for free to New Yorkers. We want to make sure it's always easy to have that face covering on.

Now, there's more to be done though. There's more to be done because that alone won't get the job done. There has to be a presence on the platforms, personnel there to educate people, remind them, make sure to staying safe. We want to work with the MTA to get this done. So, here's some things that I'm proposing, I want to see the MTA take the next steps on. I want to see that everywhere you go, whether it is in a subway station and on the platform or on the train or on a bus, there are markings telling you exactly where to be. If you're waiting for in line to get a MetroCard from the machine, here's the marketing showing you where to stand in line, if there's a line. If you're on the platform, here's the marketing's telling you exactly where you can stand with enough distance from the person next to you. If you're on the subway, here's how many people should be on that train, on that car and the markings of where you should stand or sit the same with the buses. It is crucial that every other seat be blocked off so that it's clear, you'll never end up sitting right next to someone, there's at least a seat between people. I think it's clear that we need stated public capacity limits on buses and on trains, some as I understand that some subway cards are different from others in terms of capacity.

Now, as we are surging forward to Monday, June 8th, the other big piece of the equation is to protect our health and our safety with a strong test and trace plan. Now we've been talking about this for days, want to emphasize there's a hand off I keep talking about. Just as you start to reopen test and trace moves forward in a huge new effort, that means more and more New Yorkers being tested all the time, anyone test positive gets the help they need. If they need to be in a safely separated place, they need to be in a hotel, or if they need help isolating at home anyone needs to be quarantined has that support. This approach is the offense to keep pushing back this disease, just at a point where more and more people might come in contact with each other. So yesterday we announced we're now going to a stance where testing will be available. It's still not in the number we want it to be by any stretch of imagination, but it's going to keep growing. We're coming up now towards about 30,000 tests per day, I want us to get the 50,000 tests per day soon and keep growing— from then. But here's the bottom-line testing is free; we want every New Yorker to understand it. Your testing will provide to you for free, it will be easy, it will be quick. And now my message is all New Yorkers are welcome to come and get these tests, we've talked before about the different priorities, we've talked before about people who had preexisting conditions or we're older, we've talked about our first responders, our healthcare workers, people work in our nursing homes, all those folks that was crucial to focus on them first while we had a very limited supply of testing. Now we have a lot more, all New Yorkers are now welcomed to come forward— get tested for free, to find out where you can go to nyc.gov/CovidTest, or you can call 3-1-1. We now have over 180 sites and that will be growing rapidly, as we move forward.

Also, testing is combined with tracing someone tests positive, who are the people you've been in close contact with the last few days we're going to now reach out to them. We're going to get them tested if they need help, if they need to safely separate from other people, we'll do that. Now that army of tracers we've been talking about by the end of this week, there will be 2,500 tracers on duty – 2,500 – and we'll be adding more the following week, another 1,200. So, this number is growing all the time, I've said we are prepared to get to as many as five to 10,000 tracers, they're going— into duty right now. And here's the bottom line, if you test positive, you will get a call from a tracer. You need to take that call. I want to emphasize how important this is. If you test positive, you're going to get that call, take that call, tell them about your close contacts, that's how we protect people, that's how we protect your family, and every family. That call will come within about 24 hours of the time that you are tested 24 to 36 hours, crucial that we then follow through. We do that, right, I’ll make this point simple, you do that right, we do that right, we find everybody who needs support and they get support. And the disease has nowhere to go, if people who need to be safely separated from everyone else, and we do that effectively, then other people won't catch the disease and we contain it and we slowly constrain it more and more to the point that we can eradicate it eventually, that is the name of this game.

Let me talk to you about our thresholds, our indicators that we talk about each day to tell you where we are and how well you have done, and congratulations, because today you will see how well you have done. I've said that we have three and the first is a daily number of people admitted to hospitals for suspected COVID-19. We need to say under 200 people per day in all of New York City, city of over 8 million people. So as long as there's fewer than 200 going into the hospitals in a day, we think we're okay, we can make it work, we can protect people. Today the lowest number I've seen 39 patients only, 39, for all of New York City went into the hospital for this day, 39 only, that is a tremendous positive indicator.

Now we've said there's a threshold for a number to the daily number of people in our health and hospitals ICU, need to keep that under 375, it's taken a while to get that down. But now we are there 355 for the last few days we've been under that threshold, and we intend to stay under that threshold. And percentage of people who test at citywide for COVID-19 tested positive, again, got to stay under 15 percent to know that we can make sure that we can handle people's health and safety needs, again, best number we've seen so far, four percent, even with more and more testing, only  four percent testing positive. So, this is really, really a very, very powerful evidence of everything you've achieved, this has been a tough game plan, it's required a lot of discipline. People have stuck to the plan, and now you see the fruits of your labors.

Assemblymember Victor M. Pichardo on Monday Night Looting Incidents in the West Bronx

  “The last few days have been extremely difficult, across our country, state, and in my community. The looting that occurred on Monday night only added to this pain and suffering my neighbors were already enduring.  As New Yorkers and Bronxites, we are better than this.” said Assemblymember Victor M. Pichardo, “The Bronxites I know have been peacefully demonstrating, not looting our communities under the guise of protest. This isn’t us. However, regardless of these events, we will move forward and persevere. Yet, right now we are a community in pain, and we deserve the space and support to heal.”

Senator Rivera on Monday Night's Incidents in The Bronx

"The last two days have been extremely difficult for our City, especially for The Bronx. Tuesday morning as I walked around parts of my district, I witnessed with much sorrow, and frankly disbelief, the utter destruction that many constituents and businesses across Fordham Road, the Grand Concourse, and especially Burnside Avenue were subjected to Monday night.

The curfew instituted by the Mayor and the Governor further inflamed tensions and the massive deployment of officers to protest areas decreased their presence where they were truly needed. While the destruction of our communities only hurts our ability to prosper, we cannot lose focus that the larger battle is to fundamentally change how our police department operates and transform how we keep our communities safe.

Our fight for justice must place accountability front and center. We must bring to justice the countless officers who have violated their oath to protect and serve our communities and have perpetrated violence for generations. We also must hold accountable those individuals who partake in theft or destruction of our locally-owned Bronx businesses and communities. I am asking my neighbors to continue fighting for justice while keeping each other safe. Ending violence and building a stronger Bronx must be our guiding principles as we move forward."

EDITOR'S NOTE:

You can thank Senator Rivera and his fellow legislators in Albany for passing the No Cash Bail Law in a way that looters can break into a business, loot, and set fire to the business, only to be back out on the streets in a few hours if they are caught and arrested.

CITY OPENS TESTING TO ALL NEW YORKERS AS TEST & TRACE CORPS OFFICIALLY LAUNCHES

Largest contact tracing effort of its kind anywhere in the country will help New York City re-open

  As the City launches its Test & Trace Corps initiative, Mayor de Blasio announced universal COVID-19 testing for all New Yorkers. The Test & Trace Corps initiative, launched yesterday, will allow the City to safely separate and care for those who test positive for the virus, and then rapidly track, assess, and quarantine anyone they came into contact with and may have infected. 

“Widespread testing holds the key to re-opening our city safely” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “After months of fighting, we are finally able to say that every New Yorker who needs a test will get one. Now with Test & Trace now up and running, we will be able to care for those who test positive and give them the support they need to protect themselves and their loved ones.”

“A key step in stopping the spread of COVID-19 is quickly identifying new cases and anyone they’ve been in close contact with across the diversity of our populations—and that’s exactly what Test &Trace Corps intends to do,” said Executive Director of Test & Trace Corps Dr. Ted Long. “We are bringing together the best minds in public health, academia, and the private industry to design a program that will lower the risk for COVID-19 transmission in all of our hardest hit communities, and keep us on the path to prevent the spread of this virus.”

Test & Trace

Any New Yorker can now get tested at one of the over 150 testing sites citywide.  New Yorkers can visit nyc.gov/CovidTest or call 3-1-1 to find the sites nearest them. 

As of June 1^st, 1,700 contact tracers have been deployed from neighborhoods across the city, with particular emphasis on those hardest hit by the virus, to manage, track, and recall contacts of confirmed COVID-positive cases. Community Engagement Specialists will spend time "in the field" to speak with those contacts who might have been exposed to the virus.  Case Investigators will support their efforts, and work remotely and focus their time on conducting calls to New Yorkers with a positive COVID test result.

Additionally, to ensure the Corps can meet the diverse needs of New Yorkers from all backgrounds, 40 distinct languages are spoken by tracers across the Corps.

Take Care

To help all New Yorkers safely separate at home or at a hotel, and monitor their health status, the Test & Trace Corps tracers will check-in with daily calls and conduct in-person visits as necessary. These calls and texts will allow the monitors to gauge the progress of patients, ensure proper compliance with separation protocol, and connect patients to more supportive services as necessary.

As a part of Take Care, Resource Navigators from 15 community-based organizations across the city will help New Yorkers overcome logistical issues they may encounter while safely separating in their homes or hotel, such as access to basic services like food, medical refills, and laundry. As of June 1^st, 200 Resource Navigators started working in communities across the city, with the intention to expand the program and hire additional navigators in the following weeks.

For any person who is unable to safely separate in their own home, the City will offer "Take Care Hotels" free of charge. Any doctor, nurse, or physician's assistants across the city can email CommCareCP@nychhc.org to refer a patient to a room. If you don't have a doctor, any symptomatic New Yorker can call 844-692-4692, the City's COVID-19 hotline and ask for the COVID Hotel Program. Currently, 1,200 rooms are available, with the goal to expand the number of rooms to 3,000 by late summer.

AS NEW YORK NEARS FIRST PHASE OF REOPENING. MAYOR DE BLASIO CALLS ON MTA TO TAKE CONCRETE STEPS TO KEEP NEW YORKERS SAFE ON MASS TRANSIT

  Mayor Bill de Blasio announced he has sent Governor Andrew Cuomo and MTA Chairman Pat Foye a 7-point plan of concrete, actionable recommendations to help the MTA meet increased demand as New York City begins Phase 1 of its reopening process on June 8^th. The recommendations are designed to make the subways and buses a safe, reliable, and socially distant option for the New Yorkers who will return to the workplace next month using transit.

“New York City is a mass transit city – it always has been, and always will be,” said Mayor de Blasio. “These ideas will give New Yorkers the confidence that public transit is more than just the fastest way to get around – it’s a vital ally in our ongoing fight against COVID-19. I urge the MTA to implement them right away.”

The recommendations include:

·         Increase Frequency of Service: Increase frequency significantly during peak hours while limiting the increase in ridership to allow for maximum social distancing. Return to regular rush hour service for Phase 1. The MTA should prepare to accommodate at least another 100,000 – 200,000 more riders per day.

·         Capacity Limits on Buses/Trains: Limit capacity on buses and trains to allow for social distancing. Skip stops if over capacity.

·         Limit Station/Train Overcrowding: Monitor platform crowding and temporarily close stations when needed during peak hours.

·         Social Distancing Signage/Markers: Clearly mark six feet of distance on platforms, trains and buses. Demarcate specific seats on trains and buses for riders, block off every other seat to maintain social distance.

·         Hand Sanitizing Stations: Install hand sanitizer in all stations and buses, including next to MetroCard vending machines and any other high-touch locations.

·         Face Coverings: Require face coverings for all individuals using subways, buses and trains. Provide face coverings throughout the system to ensure that all riders have them. The city will initially provide one million FREE face coverings, and the MTA and State should match that commitment.

·         Personnel: City will work with MTA to identify personnel to help promote and enforce social distancing.

Mayor de Blasio Tours Damage on Burnside Avenue After Monday Night Looting

  Tuesday afternoon Mayor Bill de Blasio came to Burnside Avenue to tour the looting that occurred the night before with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., City Council members Fernando Cabrera and Vanessa Gibson, Assemblyman Victor Pichardo, and community leaders.

  The Mayor met with the Bronx elected officials at the corner of Burnside and Jerome Avenues where they went inside the Bronx Optical Canter which had been looted Monday night. Mayor de Blasio then went to several other stores which had been looted talking with the store owners. Some were happy that the mayor came to see what had happen, but a few said they were angry because there were no police officers on or patrolling the street Monday night. 

It should be noted that not every store on Burnside Avenue was looted. The looting was in mostly in chain stores such as the cell phone stores.

Above - Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. looks at where looters pried up the gate then broke a window to loot the Bronx Optical Center.

Below - Mayor de Blasio inside the Bronx Optical Center listening to the tore owner whose store was looted.

Above - Councilman Cabrera leads the mayor on a tour of the aftermath of the Monday night looting on Burnside Avenue.

Below - The broken glass outside has been cleaned away, but the looting has left this store interior a mess, as was the case in many other stores on Burnside Avenue. 

Bronx Elected Officials Call for Peaceful Protest After Night of Vandalism on Fordham Road

  Led by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. standing at the corner of Fordham Road and the Grand Concourse many elected officials and candidates for office called for peaceful protests after several stores on Fordham Road were looted Monday night. 

  Borough President Diaz was joined by congress members Eliot Engel and Adraino Espaillat, State Senator Jamaal Bailey and Gustavo Rivera, Assembly members Speaker Carl Heastie, Latoya Joiner, Carmen Arroyo, Jeffrey Dinowitz, Jose Rivera, and Marcos Crespo, City Council members Vanessa Gibson, Ruben Diaz Sr., and Fernando Cabrera, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, 32nd State Senate candidate John Perez, 85th Assembly candidate Kenneth Burgos, and Judicial candidate Wanda Negron. Only Borough President Diaz Jr., Assembly Speaker Heastie, and Bronx DA Clark spoke. BP Diaz said that Monday night was bad not just for the Bronx, but for all of New York City, referring to the looting in mid-town Manhattan. Speaker Heastie was more subdued in what he said trying to understand the looting that went on. Bronx DA Clark asked of the looters "Why would you set us back in time?" 

Above - New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie speaks as you can see the store behind him is boarded up.

Below - Bronx District Attorney talks, saying that the actions of looting Monday night has set the Bronx back in time.

Above - Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. expresses his outrage of the looting that went on Monday night on Fordham Road and other areas of the Bronx.

Below - Assemblyman Jose Rivera films TEAM DIAZ 2020, pointing to the leading candidate in the 15th Congressional race South Bronx Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr.. In uniform is decorated veteran Master Sergeant John Perez who is running for the 32nd State Senate District, and George Alvarez running for the vacant 79th Assembly seat. 

Anticipating more possible trouble the Apple Bank on Fordham Road boards up its windows.