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NYC Lawmakers Voted on NYPD Budget Changes; Demonstrators Think It’s Not Enough
Lawmakers in New York City have voted on budget changes that moved $1 billion from the NYPD to programs that support youth and community development.
According to the City Council, the city’s budget for 2021 “will include $837 million in cuts and transfers to the New York Police Department (NYPD) expense budget, which removes $1 billion from the NYPD’s spending when combined with associated costs,” as reported by Fox News.
Reactions to NYPD Cuts
NYC mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan to cut $1.5 billion from the #NYPD budgethttps://t.co/KLK1Qz9oOB
— The Epoch Times Canada (@EpochTimesCan) June 29, 2020
The amount is below what some protesters demanded. According to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, $1.5 billion in cuts would not be enough.
“Defunding police means defunding police. It does not mean budget tricks or funny math,” she said.
City council speaker Corey Johnson said “the Council fought hard to get where we are, but I know this is just a starting point, not an ending point. We need to go farther.” According to Johnson, the budget agreement “was negotiated with a focus on police reform, youth services, and achieving equity, particularly for low-income communities of color.”
“We must always have safety and we will in this city, but we are also going to amplify both safety and fairness by reaching our young people more deeply than ever before,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio in a press conference. “And that’s what this budget is all about.”
For many demonstrators, the changes were not enough. “We are being gaslit,” said activist Jawanza James Williams. “This movement is about so much more than the $1 billion, and this means they don’t understand what we’re saying.”
The lawmakers have agreed to shift the funds away from the police. However, police reform activists worry that the funds will still somehow benefit the police department.
“To the thousands of New Yorkers who so admirably fought for budget justice over the past several weeks: we heard you and we stand with you,” Johnson said. “We recognize that the city must move away from failed racist policing policies of the past.”
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