NYC Democratic officials release public safety tip sheet that urges merchants not to call police Two Democratic New York City leaders this week urged small business owners to try to deescalate situations instead of calling the police days before a man stabbed an on-duty EMS worker to death. The public safety tip sheet tweeted by Queens Councilwoman Tiffany Caban and Zohran Kwame Mamdani, a member of the state assembly, urges merchants to dial 311, seek mental health services for people with mental illnesses, and engage in "community mediation" instead of calling authorities. "We’re distributing them to local businesses, so our neighborhood is equipped with better ways of solving problems than simply summoning police every time a challenge arises," Caban tweeted Tuesday. Giana Cerbone, owner of Manducatis Rustica restaurant in Long Island City, Queens, told the New York Post the poster won't do much to deter crime. "Are you kidding me?! … Who does she want us to call, Ghostbusters?" she said. "Look at the EMS worker who was killed. It’s a disgrace. We have to start working with the police department, not against it. We want to build a community not destroy it and the police have to be part of that." Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa told the newspaper it was "complete insanity" to tell merchants and citizens to call 311 instead of the police.
Republicans keep arming criminals and don't care about children being slaughtered in their classrooms.