New York City is not a "no-go" zone

Dear Editor,

Over the past few years, I've sadly grown accustomed to the bloviating and hyperbole in Brett Freeman's various "Publisher's Memo" columns. I was therefore not surprised when, in his January 17 Publisher's Memo "Presumed Innocent," in an otherwise banal complaint about New York State's bail reform law, he blurts out the law is "turning places like New York City into no-go zones."  Reasonable people can debate the impact of the bail reform law, but the facts are as follows.  The original bail reform law (which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2020) was amended in 2022, and those amendments also laid out a list of factors that judges must consider when setting conditions of release, including criminal history.  The law was further amended in 2023 to eliminate the clause that forced judges to consider the so-called "least restrictive" bail option. In addition, the overall crime index in New York City was 3% lower in 2024, and subway crime declined for the second consecutive year with a 5.4% reduction.  There was also a 3.5% increase in tourists visiting NYC in 2024 (I guess the tourists didn't hear about NYC being a "no-go zone").  But why rely on pesky facts when right-wing talking points are so much easier to employ to support an untenable position?

-Lou Sorell

Katonah, NY