By Michael V. Cusenza
City Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Ozone Park) on Tuesday updated her constituents on a new development in her case against the showrunners and writers of “Law & Order: SVU.”
In November, Ariola wrote to NBC, “I am deeply disappointed in your decision to paint the neighborhood of Howard Beach in such a negative light during an episode of ‘Law & Order: SVU’ titled ‘A Better Person’ (Season 24; Episode 8.) Your writers opting to label the 26,000+ residents of this diverse neighborhood as ‘racist, sexist, and phobic about just about everything’ is highly offensive, and reflects a lack of forethought and compassion for the people who live here.
“It has been decades since the specter of hatred unfairly labeled our community—hatred for which the individual perpetrators have been punished—and yet people such as yourselves continue to pass judgment on a community at large because of past incidents,” the councilwoman said in her missive. “We as a community are by no means anything like the words spoken, and to continue to label us as such is unfair and, in fact, defamatory.”
Speaking Tuesday evening at the Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic Association meeting, Ariola noted that “lobbyists” for the popular crime procedural had recently visited her office, hats in hand, asking Ariola what she needed to resolve the issue.
“’You’ve got to do something really great for us,’” the councilwoman answered.
“They depicted us in a horrific way,” Ariola added. “This is not a community of monsters. This is a community of law-abiding citizens.”
File Photo
Councilwoman Joann Ariola
