#NYC Councilman Ben Kallos’ profile in cravenness

Enlarge Image

City Councilman Ben Kallos seen in the Council chambers in 2019
William Farrington

City Councilman Ben Kallos recently managed to permanently debunk any rumor that he has a spine.

The Manhattan Democrat, already running in next year’s borough president race, sent out a mass email this month denouncing the city’s decision to zero out its graffiti-removal budget. He called for “keeping the city clean” and vowed to prioritize removing illegal street “art.”

And he explained: “Graffiti makes leeway for property crimes and gun violence, and make [sic] things harder for our small businesses as they fight to survive.”

Oops! Lawyer Sarah Steiner tweeted that Kallos had crossed a line: “Someone just discovered broken windows policing theory.” That clearly sent shudders down Kallos’ (limp) back.

Broken windows policing (cracking down on minor offenses to head off larger ones) is a no-no for the left. Never mind that it helped cut the city’s murder rate nearly 90 percent since it began under Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the ’90s. Or that scrapping it under Mayor de Blasio has fueled violent crime.

So that lone tweet had Kallos backtracking at light speed in another email the next day.

First, he threw his staff under the bus, blaming “an error on my team’s part to let language like this go out under my name.”

Then he groveled: “I do NOT support broken windows policing,” and “I don’t believe that graffiti leads to violence in any way.” He’s never backed “policing for minor infractions.”

Instead of policing graffiti, he pointed to his work getting “funding to pay formerly homeless and justice involved New Yorkers to help keep our streets clean.”

“Justice-involved,” of course, is PC-speak for . . . criminals.

So far-lefties can rest easy: Ben Kallos will always put progressive cant ahead of effective policing.