After a study and testimonies suggested this month that NYPD stats are all but made up, a cop-friendly civic group says the force needs to win back the public's trust. The Citizens Crime Commission commended the NYPD for its "terrific work" but urged it to release internal audits that they hope will prove CompStat departments aren't staffed with fiction writers. "There is no doubt that crime is way, way down," said Richard Aborn, president of the group. "But why have this cloud hanging over the department?" more ›

The three Democratic Manhattan DA candidates debated yesterday on NY1, and immediately Leslie Crocker Snyder criticized Cyrus Vance, saying the choice was "between someone who stayed in New York during the terrible times of the ’80s and ’90s and someone who left. Cy Vance decided to move as far away as he could. (Vance moved to Seattle.) She also accused Vance of being part of an "old boy's network"—he is endorsed by outgoing DA Robert Morgenthau—and slammed him for using the term "temperament," "If you recall the recent confirmation hearings of Sonia Sotomayor, who is a strong woman and a strong judge, and I like to think like myself, a strong woman and a strong judge, and self-made, like me.” Vance said of Snyder, "Let’s have someone who can come to the debate and talk about the policy questions that are in front of us, talk about the future of the office and try to spend less time demeaning the other candidates in the race." He and Richard Aborn also admitted to using cocaine over 30 years ago; Aborn told the News, "Just because I tried cocaine once or twice doesn't mean other people should." more ›

It's August in a city election year, which means many registered Democrats (and Republicans, but mostly Democrats) are receiving campaign mailings from a candidate basically every day. And this weekend, Manhattan DA candidate Richard Aborn sent out one featuring former Vice President Dick Cheney! Featuring Cheney examining a rifle, the flyer says, "One candidate for district attorney has spent 30 years taking guns out of the hands of criminals"—ha! more ›