Further demonstrating his apparent belief that all low-income New Yorkers should be treated like criminals, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said today he believed NYCHA residents should be fingerprinted to gain access to their own homes. The remarks came during his weekly radio appearance on WOR.
“What we really should have is fingerprinting to get in. And of course there’s an allegation that some of these apartments aren’t occupied by the people who originally have the lease,” Bloomberg said, adding, “We’ve just gotta find some ways to keep bringing crime down there.”
“If you have a stranger walking in the halls of your apartment building, don’t you want somebody to stop and say, ‘Who are you? Why’re you here?’ Because the locks on these doors, with so many people coming and going, you really can’t,” the mayor continued.
Mayoral candidates Bill Thompson, Bill de Blasio, and Christine Quinn were all quick to denounce the idea.
“The Mayor’s comments that New Yorkers who enter public housing should be fingerprinted is outrageous and insulting and shows just how out of touch this administration has become,” said de Blasio. “Once again, Mayor Bloomberg has resorted to presuming innocent people are guilty simply because they happen to live in certain areas, and in doing so he is stigmatizing entire communities.”
