Police presence increased around the park after the murder. Photo by Brett Forrest.
Politicians, and youth and safety organizations are taking part in a forum on Wednesday to discuss the future of Morningside Park, the site of a horrific murder last month.
Barnard student Tessa Majors, 18, was stabbed to death while walking in the park on Dec. 11. A 13-year-old was arrested in connection with the murder, and police have questioned but not arrested other youths. The murder came after crime — including several violent attacks allegedly committed by young people — had been rising in the park for months.
The forum — held at 441 Manhattan Avenue starting at 6:30 p.m. — will include several local organizations, including the Boys & Girls Club, along with representatives from Barnard and Columbia, politicians at the local, state and national level, and others. It will be interesting to see whether the forum is dominated by political speeches or if locals are given the microphone to discuss the issues.
The following summary of the meeting was sent by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer:
“The community forum’s aim is to bring everyone together and keep focus on moving the community forward with planning, programming, safety and resource sharing after the recent tragedy regarding Tessa Majors and will build on our continued work addressing the larger systemic and neighborhood issues impacting our youth.”
Who:
Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer
Congress Member Adriano Espaillat
State Senator Brian Benjamin
Council Member Mark Levine
Assembly Member Inez E. Dickens
Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell
NYC Parks
Friends of Morningside Park
NYPD
PS 180
Police Athletic League
Boys & Girls Club of Harlem
NYCHA
Columbia University
Barnard College
Street Corner Resources
Community Boards 9 & 10Where:
Police Athletic League
441 Manhattan Avenue
(Enter at 119th Street entrance)When:
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
6:30-9pm
“Move forward after tragedy”? What happened – an unlucky chain of events causing a car crash?
How about some justice first? Someone in jail for life. Preferably more than one person, given the number of “youths” allegedly involved.
“Bring the community together?” Who exactly does describe – the murderers still walking amidst that community?
Shoving a knife into someone is not a systemic neighborhood issue. It’s a deeply personal choice for which one should rot in the can for the remainder of their miserable days.
The 10-minute media farce about this atrocious crime is clearly over. Seems like it’s now time for the 10-minute PC circus.
You sound like a fool. You think getting justice is easy? We have a justice system that requires police to have evidence before charging someone. Right now, the police don’t have enough evidence to charge the other two suspects. That has nothing to do with being PC or anything of that nature.
Thanks for your comments, Jonathan. Completely on the mark both times.
What I don’t understand (and I’ll be the first to admit that I do not know the law well) is why it is that the youth who allegedly (and I understand it is alleged) stabbed Tessa Majors was not brought in for questioning by the police vs. this kids mother. An innocent person does not jump out of a car and disappear for 2 weeks while bite marks heal…
I also do not understand the complete failure of the police to recognize a spate of crimes that happened in Morningside before Tessa Majors was ever attacked. Nor the absence of apparent concern on Columbia’s part (do they not monitor local crime stats???) prior to Tessa’s murder. Nor the lack of community involvement with these youths, what these kids guardians were doing (and where they thought their kids were). So many failures on so many levels.
In all seriousness, the FBI should be called in. This is an utter failure by the police, due to PC run amok. Welcome to hell.
People like you don’t have any idea how the law works. The FBI doesn’t get involved in local crimes unless they violate Federal laws. All they can do is provide technical assistance. The problems of this case have nothing to do with being PC. The police just don’t have enough evidence against the other suspects.
The facts of the case are that one suspect, identified another suspect as the one who knifed Tessa after she bit him in defending herself. On the way to the police station, that suspect bolted from the car, and was apparently hidden by his aunt for two weeks, giving time for the bite wound to heal and for him to get rid of the clothes he was wearing the day of the attack. That is why “the police just don’t have enough evidence”, it’s gone. Why has the aunt not been arrested for her criminal actions? Or at least interviewed? It’s apparent to anyone WITHOUT BIAS that there is something very, very wrong with this case and the handling of it by the police, and the FBI should be called in to do an investigation, including of the police. Your spewing “People like you”, “You sound like a fool”, only points to the obvious weakness in your protestations.
dannyb, if you enter in a google search “tessa majors bolt from car”, about 20 results show up, from the websites of cbs news, abc, ny post, ny times and more stating he bolted from a car on the way to questioning. your link is the first i’ve read of that “correction”. this whole case stinks of cover-ups, incompetence, hands-off from being PC.
No, he did NOT “bolt from the car”. No one seems to know where that story originated, but here’s an official NYPD correction to that:
‘”He didn’t jump out of a cab while attempting to turn himself in,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison told reporters Thursday’
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/teen-wanted-for-questioning-in-majors-death-didnt-run-away-but-search-continues-nypd/2243164/
I get that they don’t have enough evidence on the other perpetrators. What I will never get is HOW they could lack this evidence. The perpetrators are kids, not mastermind repeat offenders. Are we really supposed to believe that KIDS are meticulous enough to have left no evidence behind? There’s something we aren’t being told.
Will there be un update on the Majors case? I haven’t heard anything about it lately. And, with all of these politicos and organizations attending the meeting, I, too, wonder if concerned residents will have a chance to speak.
“Move Forward” is code for:
Forget about the brutal murder of Tessa Majors because, god forbid, this could be another Central Park five case. If only there were gun control, that’s the answer…oh wait, Tessa was stabbed.
So, let a suspect be protected by his family and let them hide evidence because you don’t want to be accused of racism. Don’t put more police in the park because then they may stop suspicious youth, but you can’t do that because in New York the police do not stop people any more. The solution? Stay out of the park and let the criminals win. All the politicians speaking at this event support the very policies that give muggers and killers the freedom to roam our parks and subways.
Ben David, there are parked police vehicles parked inside Morningside Park every afternoon, when middle school lets out. I counted at least five on a rainy afternoon as I walked alongside (not through the park).
Columbia University has blood on its hands. They should be patrolling the park along with law enforcement. Of course students will go into parks Columbia. Can’t imagine why families would pays hundreds of thousands of dollars to send their kids to a university that doesn’t protect their students!!!
If you are wondering what is wrong with the response to Tessa Majors’ death, you only have to read the words of Columbia’s own (privileged) students, published in the school newspaper:
https://www.columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2020/01/27/actions-speak-louder-than-words-columbias-deeply-rooted-anti-blackness-problem/
Like you would know about that.
Young people of color need to stand up for themselves and nobody is going to do it for them.
Hear hear! This case is not going to be another one of
NY racist cops against us.
It is disgusting how this case is being dealt with. The silence and look-away stance by the police and De Blasio is beyond horrible. The public needs to keep this case alive for the poor family of Tessa Majors, as well as the family for the accused 13 year old, who’s family did the right thing and brought him in to face the music.
The family that hid the 14 year old should be charged with aiding and abetting; once they see a courtroom maybe they will do the right thing.
The whole situation is disgusting on every level.
update: Grand Jury is empaneled:
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-grand-jury-impaneled-to-weigh-charges-against-barnard-student-death-20200129-ehakgiegwzc5bjafhy6p3w2sym-story.html