The New York City Council has come out in support of Councilmember Tiffany Cabán, pictured, after the progressive legislator received a barrage of threats for her unwavering stance on policing and public safety (Photo: Twitter via @CabanD22)
Oct. 7, 2022 By Michael Dorgan
The New York City Council has come out in support of Councilmember Tiffany Cabán after the progressive legislator received a barrage of threats for her unwavering stance on policing and public safety.
The City Council issued a statement Thursday condemning the alleged threats that were called in to Cabán’s office last weekend — days after she had advised local businesses to refrain from dialing 911 in conflict situations and saying that the media was overstating subway violence.
The alleged threats also followed the fatal stabbing of an EMS lieutenant in Cabán’s 22nd Council district last week.
The callers, according to New York Post sources, spewed vile threats including telling Cabán they hoped she got “beaten up on the subway” and that her “eyes fall out.” “I hope you get your a– kicked,” one of the callers said.
The City Council condemned the intimidating rhetoric that was being directed at Cabán.
“Violent threats against elected officials, their offices, or any resident is unacceptable, and has no place in New York City,” the statement reads.
“The overheated rhetoric needs to be immediately dialed down and de-escalated. The public servants who dedicate themselves to serving our city deserve respect and safety, regardless of whether you may disagree with them.”
Cabán, an advocate for defunding the NYPD, has faced an avalanche of criticism over the last few weeks for several public statements she has made on public safety in the wake of a series of major crimes in the borough.
Early last week she encouraged local business owners to get trained in de-escalation tactics as means to address conflict. She tweeted a poster online that advised workers to use words like “no, “stop,” or “this is not okay” rather than calling the cops.
Two days later EMS worker Alison Russo-Elling was savagely stabbed to death in the Ditmars section of Cabán’s district.
Last month — and days after a woman was violently assaulted at the Howard Beach/JFK Airport station — she took to Twitter to say that subway violence is a “one-in-a-million event” and to not let “fear-mongering politicians and corporate media outlets scare us into thinking we have a dangerous, scary public transit system.”
Subway violence is a one-in-a-million event.
As a believer in a violence-free NYC, I still think that’s one too many, but let’s not let fear-mongering politicians and corporate media outlets scare us into thinking we have a dangerous, scary public transit system. pic.twitter.com/NEzvDLCH19
— Council Member Tiffany Cabán (D22) (@CabanD22) September 26, 2022
The victim of that attack criticized Cabán’s response and said the lawmaker was out of touch, insisting the subway is dangerous.
Last week, she also doubled down on her position to abolish the NYPD’s gang database saying that it is a dragnet to surveil and criminalize Black and brown New Yorkers, especially youth.
Cabán’s positions have been slammed by many on the right, including former mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, the New York Post Editorial Board and Fox News.
The Fox News late-night show “Gutfeld” had a segment dedicated to Cabán Thursday night where contributors attacked her public safety positions given the rising crime in the city.
Much of the discussion centered around a New York Post report that Cabán’s office had called the police about the alleged threats – leading to the media figures calling her hypocritical.
However, a spokesperson for Cabán said that her office didn’t call the police but instead reported the alleged threats to officials with City Council security. It was council security that reported the calls to police.
“Our office reported the large volume of hostile, violent, and threatening voicemails and emails to Council security, who, given the intensity of the harassment campaign, determined that the situation warranted law enforcement involvement,” the spokesperson told the Queens Post in a statement.
“As an office, we take our cues on security protocols from Council security. We will be offering no further comment.”
The Council also said that its security had taken steps to “support” Cabán although it did not provide any further details as to what that involves.
The Council’s support of Cabán led to one lawmaker to ask whether there is a double standard when it comes to threats against certain elected officials.
Councilmember Vickie Paladino, a Republican, took to Twitter Friday to ask why the Council had not publicly backed her with a supportive statement in June when she faced threats after criticizing Drag Queen Story Hour in schools.
Paladino had said that tax dollars should not be used to fund the program, labeling it as a form of “grooming.”
“Hey @NYCCouncil, I had violent threats made against myself and my staff too — the NYPD spent ten days in front of my office because of it,” Paladino wrote. “Why didn’t Council tweet in support of us at that time?
The Queens Post asked the City Council why it issued a statement for Cabán and not for Paladino but has yet to receive a response.
Hey @NYCCouncil I had violent threats made against myself and my staff too — the NYPD spent ten days in front of my office because of it. Why didn’t Council tweet in support of us at that time? https://t.co/eNjnTqColM pic.twitter.com/zxb3Ny8Bf6
— Councilwoman Vickie Paladino (@VickieforNYC) October 7, 2022
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48 Comments
I use to think that Caban was a foolish idealist, but I have come to the conclusion that she is actually batshit crazy.
Find your own name, and quit posting under mine!
Pardon?
Sorry, anon. Meant to reply to the fake Gardens Watcher below.
Rape victims tried using those words but it still didn’t help. Any other suggestions?
The cafe customers that got robbed across from her office should have used de-escalation tactics. Maybe if the said it wasn’t okay they wouldn’t have been robbed at gunpoint.
And they should have asked what high school they went to
That always works
Well even though i do not agree with everything Caban says she has every right to voice her views unlike Trumpsters.
So are you saying that Trump supporters do not have the right to express their views? How utterly progressive [which means fascist] of you.
“no, “stop,” or “this is not okay”…what civilized people think of this politician.
Lol, she blocked me on her social media because I said she should resign and doesn’t know what she’s doing. This is how politicians work now.
You go girl!! Latina power!!! Represent!!
“Police are currently probing the threats, but Cabán’s spokesperson stressed that her office never called 911. “We did not call 911, and any suggestion to the contrary is a lie,” the spokesperson said, without elaborating on how they notified cops.”
So of course, then they lie or come up with something because they realize it looks bad (even to their own constituents).
These socialists run the same game over and over.
So basically her biggest gripe about crime is, not enough of it? Buts its fine to contact the police when your staff does it for you. Why did they not just reply Stop or that is not okay to the calls and posts?
A friend of mine who lives in Astoria told me that there are more unsavory characters in his area and that his area has definitely gotten worse in terms of safety especially at night since the beginning sheltering homeless in nearby hotels, Open streets and the pandemic.
“Bail reform” was a leftist dream. It will never be blamed for anything.
We will not be silenced! Vote progressive this November. Protect abortion and immigration rights! Protect the working class!
The working class? Don’t you mean the criminals? The average, law abiding worker in NYC are the ones being victimized by the progressive politicians who have brought the quality of life and safety down over the past few years.
The people the progressives strangely coddle are NOT the working class: They are the welfare class [and illegal welfare class wannabes who’ve been promised endless freebies on the taxpayer’s dime by Champagne Socialists].
“Immigration rights” does not mean open the gates and let every illegal in without rigorous screening. They aren’t fleeing anything other than their own impoverished state, which the Limousine Libs promise to remedy at the actual expense of the working class.
The only ones who like her are Blacks and Hispanics who’s crimes she covers up by excusing them as victims of racism.
People from all backgrounds support her. Including many young whites and queers. Do not forget Astoria is about 50 percent white. They voted for Caban and Zohran.
Astoria is 50% white, LOL.
why do democrats love criminals? Really, whats with the love and fascination with the worst of society? Its like when a woman gets beaten by her boyfriend and knows its bad but she keeps goin back to get more.
Even though your friends and constituents tell you its wrong and the data on likelihood of a bad outcome spells the obvious. they do it anyway.
Crime through the roof, they got the release em all from prison mentality
Politicians like her are why crime in this city has increased. I don’t see Jews, Asians, Italians or Irish people committing crime. It’s Black and Hispanic people. She just wants to blame it on racism. Take responsibility and stop blaming your problems on racism.
They are commiting crimes but cops do not arrest them or media does not make it a news story according to progressives/socialists.
As per Joe Kennedy, Caban and her followers should call a crackhead instead of police if they ever need help.
After the press got a hold that Councilwoman Tiffany Cabán’s Queens office notified the NYPD after receiving a slew of threatening phone calls, Caban and her team had to do something to turn things around and mor elike a victim so that she does not look hypocritical for calling the cops after releasing a “public safety” guide that encouraged local merchants to call 311, instead of summoning cops, in most cases. Business as usual. So only the cops when you get threatening remarks via phone or internet but not when the threat or alerting encounter that could escalate is in person.
I fully agree that the media are running away with the subway crime narrative. While it is true that incidents are up and much higher on a per rider level, serious crimes are still quite rare on transit and are vastly over reported. The city follows quarter century cycles and the news seems to be ahead of the public safety reporting because of a general bias towards bad news that started during the pandemic. Gullible, if dim-witted, politicians like Robert Holden buy it hook line and sinker. Bloomberg on the other hand was brilliant at marketing NYC as safe while daily crime was still going on, but unfortunately Adams is also trying to use the negative narrative for political gain without realizing he’s playing into the media frenzy and hampering the economic recovery of his own city. NYC is still safe, folks! You heard?
NO, NEW YORK CITY IS NOT SAFE. You heard? Maybe you should visit the subway stop when a young man was stabbed multiple times on Saturday after leaving work. I’m talking on the 6 line or do you not read????
Did anything remotely like this happen in the 12 years Bloomberg was mayor? Was the city safer then? Hmm?
Crime was low with Bloomberg. Stop and frisk was working. Then all that fine work went down the toilet especially quality of life when DiBlasio got elected. You heard?!
Crime was low because entire communities were being treated like criminals. That was the trade off with that policy. By the way crime continued going down once it was stopped. It ticked up during and after the pandemic but is still relatively low, hence the councilwoman’s correct argument that it’s being overstated.
Crime went down because DiBlasio decriminalized quality of life crimes. These are all gateway crimes that lead to bigger crimes.
Serious crime went down too. It remains low. Caban is absolutely correct. Your racism is not the answer.
Politicians like Caban are the direct reason crime has surged.
Stay democrat in order to vote in the primaries and vote against progressive democrats. Look at other democratic candidates and vote for them.
Stop electing her. It is policies like hers that are directly leading to the massive increase in crime. She is not electing herself.
Maybe the calls were made by trump supporters…
How does it feel having Trump live rent-free inside your head for so long?
She needs to resign. She is terrible at her job, has terrible ideas, and doesn’t care about anyone but herself. I’m curious if she also lives in a million dollar plus residence while continuing her socialist rhetoric. The city council are turnt this city into a warzone. Quality of life is in the toilet.
Many voters in Astoria support her narrative.
Constituents will vote her back in and then cry about all the crime and quality of life in their neighborhoods on social media.
Threats aren’t funny but her staff whining to the NYPD to save them and go after the trolls is hilarious!
Caban represents her district very well and people knew who they were voting for when they elected her. Many queers and progressives have moved into her district to support Caban and her socialists views. Even Bernie Sanders and AOC endorsed her. She should be able to voice her views and opinions freely. She has a very long political future ahead of her.
well, she threatened everyone’s safety, so why do the progressives think this only goes one way? sorry honey, that’s not the way the world works. too bad so sad.
Another clown politician !
Caban needs to go. Has anyone investigated this woman? It seems she may be on the payroll of some type of criminal organization.
I feel threatened every time I walk the streets and ride the subway. I know how she feels. I’ve been assaulted as well. I feel her pain.