‘Not about helping people in our community. It’s about numbers.’ ibid. rozzer
Between 2007 & 2015 the NYPD issued nearly 900,000 criminal summonses that were later dismissed for lack of probable cause. Criminal summonses and arrest-related fees contribute tens of millions to the city’s annual budget, with blacks and Latinoes receiving summonses five times more often than whites. ibid. captions
‘All they do is arrest them with no evidence.’ ibid. mother
The officers file a class-action lawsuit which claims the NYPD has violated a state ban on quotas by pressuring minority officers to issue arrests and summonses. It also alleges these officers are retaliated against when they do not comply. ibid. caption
‘It’s continuous. It just keeps going.’ ibid. protester at funeral of victim of police arrest
The twelve officers are invited for their first televised appearance on NBC. They are being called ‘The NYPD 12’. ibid.
This is New York. A miracle city. A city of tall buildings, narrow dark streets, magnificent parks, broad avenues, homes and schools, stores and theatres and palatial hotels, a fascinating city, an incredible city. The commercial and cultural heart of a great nation. Operation Jane Walk, 2018, short 16.14, opening commentary
New York became the city of cars. ibid.
Prosecutor: Did you use your authority to commit acts of crime and corruption in violation of your sworn duty to uphold the law?
Michael Dowd: Yes … hundreds. Precinct Seven Five aka The Seven Five, 2014
New York is in the grip of a crime wave. ibid. television news
75 Precinct back in the late eighties was the deadliest precinct in the country. ibid. rozzer
‘Welcome to east New York’ … ‘Welcome to the land of Fuck.’ ibid.
They [Dowd’s group] had a reputation. They were out of control. ibid.
A fifty-five gallon drum was filled with marijuana. ibid. Dowd responds to domestic violence call
1Now all of a sudden it’s a money-maker. ibid. Dowd
In September of 1986, 20 blocks from the 75th Precinct, 13 police officers are arrested on corruption charges in the 77th Precinct. ibid.
Cops Scandal Mushrooms: 7 other precincts in pusher rip-off. ibid. New York Post 25 September 1986
There was a thousand shootings a year in my precinct alone, a hundred murders a year. ibid. Dowd
In June of 1987 Michael Down and Kenny Eurell became partners. ibid. caption
At 20 years old Diaz was selling more than 300 kilos a week. ibid.
Mike is just fucking crazy. ibid. colleague
Cops don’t turn in other cops. ibid.
I had seen a couple of cars following me. I knew something wasn’t right. ibid.
Dirtiest Cop Ever. ibid. New York Post headline
I need to start working with the DEA. ibid. Mike’s partner
In July of 1992 Michael Dowd was taken into custody by the DEA and the NYPD. ibid.
Kenny Eurell never served a day in custody. ibid.
After serving 8 years in prison, Diaz was deported to the Dominican Republic. ibid.
In the wake of Dowd’s arrest, Mayor Dinkins appointed The Mollen Commission to investigate corruption within the NYPD. As a result, dozens of officers across the city’s precincts were arrested. ibid.
Prior to sentencing, Dowd agreed to testify before the commission. He refused to implicate any NYPD officers other than himself. ibid.
Michael Dowd was convicted of racketeering and conspiracy to distribute narcotics. He served 12 years in prison. ibid.
Carl Paladino, Republican candidate for governor of New York … He advocates against the teachers’ union and promotes charter schools. People of colour make up 80% of Buffalo’s public school population. Field of Vision: Adversary, short 17m
Carl Paladino Not Suitable for Children. ibid. billboard along the 33
Following a formal hearing, the State Education Commission removed Paladino from the school board in August 2017. Paladino is now suing the six women on the board who opposed him, claiming his removal was a retaliatory violation of his First Amendment rights. Five of the six women are people of colour. ibid.
There’s many reasons why a homeless person is homeless. Big City Life: Homelessness in New York, homeless person, RT 2014
I’m from Cuba. ibid. Times Square batman
I just keep my head up. And every day as long as I wake up I’ve got another shot. ibid. homeless person
In 1969 homosexual acts were illegal in every state except Illinois. That summer New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. Few photographs of the raid and riots that followed exist. American Experience: Stonewall Uprising, PBS 2019
Something snapped – what? This is not right. ibid. dude
That’s what it was – it was a war. ibid. dude #2
The whole house of cards that was the system of oppression of gay people began to crumble. ibid. dude #3
The New York version of a veg path: I’m heading to Brooklyn to visit a self-styled urban farm, and being New York, it all takes place three storeys up on a warehouse roof. Monty Don’s American Gardens s1e1, BBC 2020
One of New York’s historic landmarks: every visitor comes here to Central Park. ibid.
I’ve come here to the Bronx to visit a community garden … run by the New York Restoration Project. ibid.
In New York one of the biggest developments in American history has chosen British designer Thomas Heatherwick to create the centrepiece inspired by the stepwells of India, the vessel has been built in Italy, shipped across the Atlantic, and erected on Manhattan’s West Side. It’s cost $150 million dollars. It’s been a hit with the selfie-generation, and it goes nowhere, just as its designer intended. The Art of Architecture s1e4: Thomas Heatherwick
Built over the unlovely train tracks on Manhattan’s west side, Hudson Yards is a $25 billion development – the brainchild of Stephen Ross: it’s a mixture of office, shops and apartments … At its heart is a structure hard to classify. ibid.
Beneath the streets of New York lies a labyrinth of dark tunnels. Legends say the sewers of New York harbour terrifying creatures. Frightening reports of attacks lead a team of experts to prove their existence. Monsterquest goes deep underground in search of Sewer-Gators. Monsterquest s3e5: Gators in the City, History 2009
Manhattan’s sewer network is made up of over 7,000 miles of pipe. ibid.
New York City: by the end of the 1970s it was a city on its knees in a country that was losing its mind. The American dream had become a nightmare. And no place felt as rotten or as hopeless as New York. But suddenly, at the dawn of a new decade, there was something else in here: opportunity. It was everywhere in the ’80s and five New Yorkers pounced … By the end of the decade they had reshaped the city in their own image. But at what cost? Empires of New York s1e1: Chaos Spells Opportunity, DiscoveryPlus 2020
The City of Dreams is becoming a nightmare. $13 billion in debt and teetering on bankruptcy. ibid. news
Ivan Boesky: A man who came from nothing and reinvented himself on Wall Street. He was a master of secrets … ‘He made a hell of a lot of money and they thought he a magician.’ ibid.
Donald Trump: A kid from Queens with charisma to spare and something to prove in a city where image was everything he knew that to be king of New York real estate he only needed to act like it. ibid.
For self-invented dreamers and schemers New York in the early ’80s was the place to be. ibid.
Into this circus came Rudi Giuliani. Crippled by corruption and crime, New York City needed a hero: an ambitious young prosecutor knew it and he knew what it would do for him. ibid.