Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Cartoon

A Round and a Roundy: The NYPD’s Racially Biased COVID-19 Enforcement Scandal

Cartoon: Bill Roundy

Editorial cartoonist Bill Roundy
Editorial cartoonist Bill Roundy
Editorial cartoon of Bill Roundy by editorial cartoonist Bill Roundy.

The mayor and police commissioner keep denying that NYPD officers are systematically carrying out social distancing enforcement in a racially biased manner, but our editorial cartoonist Bill Roundy isn't buying it.

Try as they might, the mayor and Commissioner Dermot Shea haven't been able to explain why 90 percent of summonses for failing to socially distance went to blacks and Hispanics. Even as they can't come up with the right words, they are starting to at least act: the city announced earlier in the week that it would send "ambassadors" rather than cops into parks to encourage people to do the right thing.

So maybe scenes of police aggression like the ones that have exploded on social media — and depicted in the editorial cartoon version above — won't happen going forward. But for now, Roundy will wait and see (pen poised for next week's toon).

This week's bonus cartoon follows Monday's edition in which Roundy punctured the balloon of hypocrisy surrounding the MTA's efforts to kick homeless people off the subway.

Brooklyn-based cartoonist Bill Roundy's prior work for Streetsblog is archived here.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Wednesday’s Headlines: Gonna Have to Pay for That Edition

We're going to need a lot more money to handle storms like the one we saw on Monday. Plus more news.

July 16, 2025

Appeals Court Halts Adams’s Impending Bedford Ave. Protected Bike Lane Demolition

The judge's ruling came just as the city was set to begin the bike lane demolition process Tuesday evening.

July 15, 2025

New Yorkers Threaten Legal Action If Eric Adams Makes Bedford Ave. Less Safe for Cyclists

Brooklyn cyclists pledged to sue the city if they are killed or injured on Bedford Avenue after Mayor Adams makes it less safe.

July 15, 2025

E-Bike Fans and Foes Agree: Adams’s 15 MPH Speed Limit Won’t Make Streets Safer

A public hearing about the mayor's proposed speed limit devolved into a debate about e-bike licensing, naturally.

July 15, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines: Wet Wet Wet Edition

New York City experienced its second rainiest hour in history. Plus more news.

July 15, 2025

Civic Panel Dings Adams For Cutting Bike and Bus Lanes Out of Fifth Av. Redesign

Mayor Adams's scaled down redesign of Fifth Avenue isn't a "real solution" to safety issues on the packed retail corridor, Manhattan Community Board 5 said.

July 14, 2025
See all posts