“This will be an important year for us to hold together and to make America the best version itself.” Cong. Hakeem Jeffries

By Mary Alice Miller
The African American Clergy and Elected Officials organization, now celebrating 34 years, opened this year’s first session on Friday, January 5, with a call for unity and empowered leadership in the community.
Rev. Dr. Robert Waterman, AACEO President and pastor of Antioch Baptist Church, set the theme for the dozens of community leaders in the church community room: “We need to take an inventory of ourselves,” alluding to the power of voting, adding “We can no longer have a one-term Black Mayor.”
Among those present at the meeting were NYS Attorney General Letitia James, by video Minority Leader and AACEO Vice President Hakeem Jeffries, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, NYPD Chief of Brooklyn North Scott Henderson, NYC Chief Diversity Officer Michael J. Garner, and AACEO Chief of Operations Dee Bailey.
In Congressman Jeffries’ special message to the gathering, he said, “I appreciate representing a wonderful community in the 8th congressional district and I look forward to continuing to work hard on your behalf.”

“Everything we care about is on the line: justice, democracy, freedom, Social Security and Medicare. The progress that we have made over the last few years under the leadership of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will be on the line.
“We believe in truth, progress, and reconciliation. There are others who want us to believe that slavery was a job training program that personally benefited African Americans. We are dealing with wickedness in high places. This will be an important year for us to hold together as community leaders, as elected officials, as members of the clergy, as people of conscience who care about making America the best version itself.”
AG James, the host of the gathering, remembered the recently departed Dr. John L. Flateau and his impact on NYC electoral politics. “John was the brainchild behind the Challenge here in Brooklyn against former Mayor Ed Koch. We challenged district maps and the reapportionment here in New York City. They went all the way up to the Supreme Court and argued before Thurgood Marshall,” said James.
“They were successful in creating more council and assembly districts, particularly in central Brooklyn and communities of color. We have so many elected officials who look like me and all of you in this room because of John Flateau’s brilliance.
James added, “He was a statistician and someone who was strategic in his politics. He believed in democracy and the fundamental right to vote.
We should honor him for all he has done for Brooklyn and the City and State of New York.”
James gave a shout-out to Anthony Wells, president of SSEU Local 371 NYC’s largest public sector employee union. “For those who don’t understand the power of the labor movement, the reason we have a minimum wage, childcare laws, overtime, pension, and weekends off is because of labor. It’s because of the power of unions. That is why New York will always be a union town.”

Acknowledging an 1199SEIU Health and Hospitals union representative, James said, “When I was council to Al Vann, we were responsible for saving Interfaith not once but twice when it filed for bankruptcy. We need to ensure we get full funding for Medicaid and urge the state legislature and the governor to fully fund Medicaid for all of our hospitals.”
Chief Henderson credited Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey for creating a blueprint for community policing and public safety. “We delivered safety in Brooklyn North in 2023. There were ten fewer homicide victims in Brooklyn North in 2023 and 81 fewer shooting victims.”
DA Gonzalez spoke of a community partnership in which 30 men in the 79th and 81st precincts who were at high risk of committing violence or becoming victims of violence participated in an Inside Circle restorative justice program hosted by Bridge Street Church. “We are trying to come up with a treaty between themselves to lay down the arms. As District Attorney, it is my job to never give up on our young people,” said Gonzalez. “In the past two years, we have had five major gang takedowns of violent people. The combination of helping and working with our young people and using enforcement as appropriate has led to a 27% this year alone reduction in shooting victims in Brooklyn.
Chief Maddrey said, “The work that I do, I cannot do alone. I depend on the men and women of this department every day to think outside the box about what they can personally do to make this city better and make communities safe,” said Maddrey. “It is not an easy task. We drove down crime this year: 400 fewer shooting victims across this city and 50 fewer homicides.
The goal in 2024 is to bring all five boroughs together, working creatively with the community, celebrating community values, and ensuring we keep people safe.”
I don’t want history to repeat itself. I remember in 1991 and 1992, the media was bad for Mayor Dinkins. Just like now, they were anticipating that he would not get another term,” said Bailey. “That’s not going to happen again. If our mayor is in trouble, we are going to fix it. It’s unfair to us to elect another black man as the mayor of the City of New York and let him hang out there while they are all coming for him, and we did not come together to say ‘No.’ We stick together no matter what. Let’s use these next couple of years to ensure that history does not repeat itself.”

Michael Garner, the first Chief Business Diversity Officer, echoed Bailey’s remarks. “On Giuliani’s first day in office, he rolled back all the minority business programming that Dinkins had installed. Eric Adams has put your issues at the forefront. This is the most diverse administration in the history of New York since 1625,” said Garner. “If we allow the forces to prevent Eric Adams from getting re-elected, shame on us.”