Dear New Yorkers, Speaking to THE CITY last night, Mayor Eric Adams claimed that “agitators that came from outside our city” had planted a Molotov cocktail at a protest for Jordan Neely. His comments came around the same time that the NYPD violently cracked down on a vigil for Neely near the Broadway-Lafayette train station where he was killed. Police arrested multiple people, including a photojournalist. It was unclear whether Adams was referring to that protest, or an earlier one. It has now been eight days since Daniel Perry killed Neely with a fatal chokehold on a Manhattan-bound F train. Since then, protests and vigils have been held across the city for Neely, a 30-year-old subway performer and graduate of Washington Irving High School who was experiencing homelessness at the time of his death. Those protests took place on streets, in subway cars, and in some cases on the tracks. “We were called names. We had our heads slammed against the concrete,” said Dwreck Ingram, an activist and organizer who attended a protest on Saturday. The NYPD said it had arrested more than a dozen protesters on charges of resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, trespassing and assault. Perry, 24, a former Marine and resident of West Islip, in Long Island, has not been arrested or charged with a crime. And Neely’s family is waiting for a call from City Hall. Yesterday, they released a public statement for the first time since his death — calling on Adams to “please give us a call.” “The family wants you to know that Jordan matters,” their lawyers wrote. Yesterday evening, Adams said he had tried to reach Neely’s family earlier to offer his condolences. Read more here. Some other items of note: Billionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen has spent nearly $100,000 since the start of the year to lobby City Council members to permit a new development next to Citi Field. Since the project needs approval from both houses of the state legislature in Albany to move forward, it’s unclear what the City Council can do — but that hasn’t stopped Cohen from trying to drum up support. The fallout over Innovation QNS, a $2 billion residential development near Northern Boulevard in Queens, is making waves in Long Island City’s City Council race. The current progressive Council member, Julie Won, is facing a challenger running to her left — plus a lack of support from a coalition of five unions pouring money into progressive candidates in other races. Last week, our MISSING THEM COVID-19 memorial project launched a display at Greenwood Cemetery featuring the Fletcher family who lost their father and husband: MTA worker Joseph Trevor Fletcher, to COVID. Visit “The Many Losses From COVID” a community art memorial organized by Naming The Lost and City Lore any time from now until May 29. You can also see our ongoing exhibit with Photoville featuring obituaries and photos from the project at locations in The Bronx and Queens until May 31. Thanks to everyone who RSVP’d to THE CITY’s Open Newsroom session on Thursday in partnership with Chalkbeat, ProPublica and the Brooklyn Public Library, which addresses mental health resources in New York City public schools, and how to get support. We are at capacity for the event. But don't worry if you didn't sign up in time — we'll share a video of the panel discussion with Scoop subscribers soon. For the latest local numbers on COVID-19 hospitalizations, positivity rates and more, check our coronavirus tracker.
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