The New York Civil Liberties Union filed a human rights complaint against the NYPD on Thursday for violating the rights of homeless people by telling them to “move along” off the streets when they haven’t broken any laws.
In an ironic twist, the NYCLU claims in the lawsuit that the city is routinely violating the Community Safety Act — an anti-bias law it had championed along with then mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio three years ago.
That law prohibits profiling based on things like race, gender and housing status.
At the time, critics like ex-Mayor Bloomberg said it would clog courts with unnecessary lawsuits against the NYPD.
The NYCLU complaint was filed with the city’s Commission on Human R”The New York City Police Department has been targeting innocent homeless people to move along just for standing or sitting in a public place,” said Donna Lieberman, the NYCLU Executive Director. “But homelessness is not a crime. It’s not illegal.”ights, and highlighted the NYPD’s well-documented efforts last summer to rid East Harlem of panhandlers.
Dozens of supporters and activists — including the complaint co-sponsor “Picture the Homeless” — gathered at Foley Square in Manhattan to announce the legal action.
Among them was Floyd Park, a 61-year old homeless man who regularly camps on E. 125th St. and Park Avenue — which advocates say is ground zero for the NYPD’s so called “move along” policy.
“They [cops] were constantly coming and telling us to move along,” he said. “They’re just treating us like nobody, like we’re nothing. It was horrible.”
Park, who suffers from arthritis, said, “I have a handicap and I couldn’t even sit down for a couple of minutes and rest.”
A spokeswoman for the mayor said the city is reviewing the complaint.
“The City respects the rights of our homeless New Yorkers and has put in place a new comprehensive plan to reduce homelessness,” said Monica Klein.
De Blasio has struggled to handle the homelessness problem in the city, which began to skyrocket before he took office and has continued to rise under his watch.
