NEW YORK CITY — More than 700 people were arrested Monday night as looters hit areas in Midtown and the Fordham section of the Bronx.
But Mayor Bill de Blasio defended the police response at his Tuesday media briefing.
On Tuesday night, more police were assigned to multiple areas and there was a different allocation of resources.
The curfew beings and will run nightly until Monday at 5 a.m.
Surveillance video from inside Sneaker Plaza on East Fordham Road at East 188th Street shows dozens of people entering the store.
Harjit Singh has owned the store in the Bronx for 11 years. He was there as his store was destroyed.
“People were inside in the basement. We told the police and they say they cant do anything,” he said.
Mayor de Blasio was in the Bronx Monday night. He said officers have to deal with complex situations.
“If there’s a specific instance where they didn’t respond, I want to know why. There may be a good reason why it wasn’t possible to do what they want to do. There is no such thing as looting with impunity, I am sick of these efforts to mischaracterize reality,” he said.
The looting and police response were “inexcusable” to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. He offered National Guard troops to all mayors in New York.
“I believe the mayor underestimates the scope of the problem, the duration of the problem and I don’t think they used enough police to address the situation,” Cuomo said.
De Blasio has said the NYPD is best equipped you police the city.
Arrest data for Tuesday night was not yet available.
