Rally organizer and NYPD Captain (Ret.) Joe Concannon spoke first on Tuesday on the steps of Borough Hall.
Forum Photos by Michael V. Cusenza
Passionate pro-police, anti-administration prose delivered on the steps outside Borough Hall briefly heated up a bitterly cold Tuesday afternoon as activists, union and civic leaders, and elected officials rallied in support of the NYPD.
Organized by Joe Concannon, a retired police captain and one-time City Council candidate, the event, replete with guest speakers and plenty of signs, was the first in a five-borough series that will culminate at City Hall.
“We’re here to let the world know that the vast, vast majority of New Yorkers support our local Police Department,” said Concannon, a deputy director for Public Safety under Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
There were plenty of homemade signs at the event as well. Forum Photos by Michael V. Cusenza
The rallies have emerged from the discord between Mayor Bill de Blasio and the city’s police unions, who feel that their members have been slighted more than once by City Hall in remarks delivered by de Blasio following the conclusion of the Eric Garner grand jury.
Janet Maderick, the wife of a 27-year NYPD officer, said that “as of late, I’ve never been so nervous, nor been so proud,” calling the “utter lack of respect [for cops] extremely offensive.”
Chemung County Sheriff Chris Moss, who ran unsuccessfully last year on the GOP ticket for lieutenant governor, had sharp words for some who “will never understand the honor and sacrifice that comes with wearing the uniform.”
“If we want true discussions with meaningful results, individuals like [the Rev.] Al Sharpton can have no seat at the table,” Moss said.
City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) had some words of advice for the administration and some of his Council colleagues.
“I’ll say it like my mother and grandmother: Praise in public, criticize in private,” he said. “The last thing [officers] need is politicians in the media attacking them.”
Jim Curran, a Queens Village resident and retired NYPD sergeant, spoke to The Forum from a cop’s perspective.
“They might become awash in despair, with all this negativity,” he said. “We do have their backs. We have to support them, and let them know so.”
By Michael V. Cusenza
