By Craig McCarthy , Nolan Hicks and Emily Crane
NYPD cops will be forced to report on even their most minor interactions with the public after the City Council on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected Mayor Eric Adams’ veto of the “How Many Stops Act’’ — which he and other critics argued would threaten public safety.
Adams, who fought the bill tooth-and-nail in recent weeks, failed to sway the two councilmembers he needed to beat the override — which passed with a bruising 42-9 vote.
The Democrat-led council also voted to override Adams’ veto of another bill banning solitary confinement in Big Apple jails.
“These bills will make New Yorkers less safe on the streets, while police officers are forced to fill out additional paperwork rather than focus on helping New Yorkers and strengthening community bonds,” Adams said in a statement after the vote.
“Additionally, it will make staff in our jails and those in our custody less safe by impairing our ability to hold those who commit violent acts accountable.”
Under the NYPD bill, officers will have to record the “apparent” race, gender and age of nearly every person they question — even someone who could just be a potential witness to a crime, or other of the lowest-level encounters.
Adams, a former NYPD captain, and police advocates had been adamant that the bill would bog cops down in a sea of unnecessary paperwork and slow down investigations.
“Today’s over-ride is one more step toward the city council goal: destroy the world’s best police department,” NYPD Detectives Endowment Association President Paul DiGiacomo said.
“Thanks to the politicians the divide between the police and citizens will grow. And so will retirements of our best most experienced detectives. Heartbreaking.”
NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said in an interview on WABC 770 AM’s “Cats & Cosby Show” that the bill — which goes into effect in June — would cause police-community relations to become “frayed.”
“It’s going to take a toll there [on] our response time to calls for service … There’s an overtime concern now,” he said.
“We have to discuss this further [with the council]. Maybe we can come to a compromise. We’re hoping.”
Supporters of the bill — led by Speaker Adrienne Adams and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams — insisted the additional reporting system would, in part, hold cops accountable for unlawful stops and help keep a handle on racial profiling.
Adams had needed to convince just two lawmakers to join him after he vetoed the bill Jan. 19.
It had passed with a veto-proof 35-9 majority in December, with seven councilmembers abstaining.
As part of his public campaign to kill the legislation, Adams got eight councilmembers to join him on an “eye-opening” NYPD ride-along in Harlem and the South Bronx on Saturday night.
Ultimately, though, it did little to change minds.
Councilman Eric Dinowitz (D-Bronx), who was among those to take part in the ride-along, on Tuesday called out the NYPD’s antiquated paper record-taking as he rejected the veto.
“This bill does not significantly add to their administrative tasks,” Dinowitz said, arguing that a cop had told him they often have to already fill out “two, three documents for a single incident.”
“In some instances they’re writing, by hand, information and then going back to the station and transcribing those handwritten notes to a computer,” he continued.
“One officer shared with me that as recently as 2012 he was using a typewriter.”
Councilman Yusef Salaam (D-Manhattan), head of the council’s influential public safety committee and a member of the exonerated “Central Park Five,” got emotional as he went against the mayor.
“If these laws were in place in 1989,” he said, referring to how he and four other teens were falsely accused and convicted of raping a white jogger in Central Park three decades ago.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle, newly elected Councilwoman Susan Zhuang (D-Brooklyn) stressed that her constituents in Sunset Park “want to support police officers.”
“In my district, one in three people have experienced hate [crimes],” she said, referring to the area’s high Asian population.
Queens Councilman Bob Holden, who was among three Democrats who joined the council’s six Republicans to back the mayor, argued the bill was asking officers in an already low-staffed department to do more.
“That’ll delay critical response,” Holden said.
“This is going to tie the hands of the police officers, which is the intent here.”
As recently as Tuesday, Adams was appearing on morning TV shows to speak out against the bill — joined by Yanely Henriquez, the mom of a teen slain in a random shooting, who issued a desperate plea to the council urging them not to overturn his veto.
With Adams’ veto on the two controversial bills failing, several council insiders ripped Hizzoner for not doing more to sway on-the-fence votes amid the bruising fight, arguing he opted to launch a publicity blitz instead of just getting councilmembers on the phone.
“If the mayor can’t take 10 minutes out of his day to call members, I’m wondering how serious he is about this,” one council source told The Post ahead of the vote.
When pressed, Adams insisted he had reached out to councilmembers personally to help sway their vote.
The mayor said he still wanted to work with the council and NYPD to negotiate how the bills would be applied.
There will now be a six-month period in which those negotiations will take place.
“With these bills set to become law, I remain willing to partner with my colleagues in the City Council to address New Yorkers’ concerns in the period leading up to implementation,” Adams said.
