A couple of months ago I released a story on the Harlem police killings and how it is a reminder of the dangers of being in law enforcement is. 

Now it’s time to flip the script 

If you haven’t heard, at least 23 subway riders in Brooklyn were shot by Frank James, a man who was wearing a gas mask and green construction vest who tossed two smoke canisters in the N train car to distract the rush hour crowd before opening fire back in April. 

James, who began his attack at the 36th Street and Fourth Avenue station in Sunset Park around 8:30 a.m. took out a .9-mm semi-automatic handgun after he tossed the smoke canisters and fired 33 times, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig, striking 10 people.  

The event marked yet another tragic day in New York. 

We have seen horrific attacks on everyday New Yorkers for decades and now we are seeing an increase on attacks on police officers. 

To say that New York is in turmoil is not just a safe thing to say but an understatement.  

While I understand both sides that tend to favor one side than the other, we must come together to help bring gun violence to an end.  

However, coming together is not what we are doing, instead we are being driven farther apart.  

Back in April, a a 12-year-old was killed in Brooklyn by a stray bullet when a flood of bullets hit a parked car in which he was eating a meal with his 20-year-old relative. Just a month prior a a 3-year-old toddler was shot in the shoulder outside a Brooklyn daycare. 

We need to have confidence in our officers to help keep New York safe, but it is hard to have faith in our officers when we hear cases of our police assaulting Washington, D.C., officers with a metal flagpole at the Capital Riots and claiming it was self-defense. But if there is anything that the Harlem police officer killings have taught us, it’s that we have no choice but to have more faith in our officers… because we don’t know when we will need them to help us.  

It’s a tricky situation us New Yorkers are in. We are trying to get back to our feet after the worst of the pandemic while also trying to combat the ongoing rise in crime that has seemed to linger along with the virus. It’s hard to go to work every day when someone might try to push you into the train tracks or throw human feces on you. It’s also hard to be a police officer in New York City when you are terrified that someone might attack you for wearing your badge. 

It’s hard to give concrete answers to help curve this issue, but one thing that is evident is that we need to have a harsher crackdown on gun ownership in New York. In New York City, all firearms require a permit to purchase, own and carry. However, New York state law does not require a license to own or possess long guns such as AK47’s but does require a permit to legally possess or own a pistol. Our state is one of the strictest in the country when it comes to firearms, however we are one of the worst states when it comes to gun violence.  

Something isn’t right here. 

We must have an even stricter hold on gun ownership. There should be no excuse for a Frank James, a man who has been arrested 12 times before, including for possession of burglary tools, criminal sex act, trespassing, larceny and disorderly conduct should have been allowed to carry a firearm, let alone a semi-automatic. 

To have President Biden continually making direct references to New York when it comes to crime and gun violence is an embarrassment on the state of New York. We shouldn’t be the prime example  

I wish I could stand here on my soap box and give you all the answers to help bring us together but unfortunately, I can’t.  

But I know wearing a halfhearted slogan to the Met Gala isn’t going to help.