More than 81% of social distancing summonses went to black and Latino New Yorkers

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NYPD officers block the entrance to Queensbridge Park after arrested three people for violating social distancing orders. Photo courtesy of CJ Wojtowski

NYPD officers block the entrance to Queensbridge Park after arrested three people for violating social distancing orders. Photo courtesy of CJ Wojtowski

By David Brand

Black and Latino New Yorkers have received more than 81 percent of the social distancing enforcement summonses issued by NYPD officers during the coronavirus crisis, the department said Friday.

In total, cops issued 374 summonses — including 28 in Queens — between March 16 and May 5, according to NYPD data published Friday. Black New Yorkers received 193 of those summonses and Latino New Yorkers received 111. 

In Queens, 20 of the 28 summonses were issued to men. More than half the summonses —15 of 28 — were issued to Hispanic residents. Nine were issued to Asian/Pacific Islander residents, two were issued to black residents and two were issued to white residents, according to the NYPD data.

The NYPD published the demographic breakdown of summonses after the New York Times reported severe racial disparities in enforcement in Brooklyn, where 35 of 40 people arrested at gatherings were black.

In response to the data, obtained from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted that “the disparity in the numbers does NOT reflect our values.”

“We HAVE TO do better and we WILL,” he added.

De Blasio empowered the NYPD with issuing summonses and making arrests to break up social gatherings in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. 

Since the enforcement began, local leaders, advocates and everyday New Yorkers have raised concerns about the unequal impact of social distancing orders against people of color.

NYPD officers have used aggressive force to arrest New Yorkers of color for not practicing social distancing in encounters captured on cell phone video. Three people were arrested when cops broke up an impromptu memorial for late rapper King Shooter in Queensbridge Park Tuesday.

“It’s all about equity for me,” Southeast Queens Assemblymember Alicia Hyndman said Thursday. “When you talk about the disproportionate enforcement in one community and not the other, when we realize all the disparities that existed before, let us not go back to that.”

The majority of the citywide summonses were issued in Brooklyn, including 121 written by cops responding to 12 gatherings, the NYPD said.