Police union angered by de Blasio’s possible plan to cut New York police budget
Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie says New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s (D) plan would cut the New York Police Department’s budget by $ 1 billion if the city council is approved. FOX Business’s David Asman later discusses where the funding might go rather than the police force.
New York City lawmakers voted Tuesday on budget changes that transferred $ 1 billion from the New York Police Department to programs that help youth and community development, a number that fell short of what many protesters in the city have demanded.
The City Council said in a statement that the city’s budget for 2021 will include $ 837 million in cuts and transfers to the spending budget of the New York Police Department (NYPD), which eliminates $ 1 billion of NYPD spending when combines with associated costs.
The amount was much less than what some protesters demanded. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., previously said that $ 1.5 billion in cuts would not be enough.
“Definancing the police means defining the police. It doesn’t mean budgeting tricks or fun math, “he said. A Twitter user wrote:” This is like putting the NYPD budget on Groucho Marx glasses and saying it’s a day. “
Corey Johnson, the speaker of the city council, said: “The Council fought hard to get to where we are, but I know this is just a starting point, not an ending point. We have to go further.”
He added that the budget agreement “was negotiated with a focus on police reform, youth services and the achievement of equity, particularly for low-income communities of color.”
New York City Council minority whip Joseph Borelli voted no against the budget cuts and said, “Know that what we will do will create a more violent city.”
Borelli added that there were “72 shootings just last week, and not a single shot per [a] New York Police Officer. “
“We must always have security and we will in this city, but we are also going to expand both security and equity by reaching out to our youth more deeply than ever before,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a press conference Tuesday. “And that’s what this budget is about.”
City lawmakers have agreed to withdraw the NYPD funds, but police reform activists are concerned that these funds will be transferred in a way that still benefits the police department.
“To the thousands of New Yorkers who have fought so admirably for budget justice in the past few weeks: we listen to and support them,” Johnson said Tuesday. “We recognize that the City must move away from the failed racist police policies of the past.”
AOC SAYS PROPOSAL $ 1B BUDGET CUT TO NYPD IS NOT ENOUGH: “DEFUNDING POLICE MEANS DEFUNDING POLICE”
A protester camp was set up outside City Hall last week to demand that the city “defuse the police,” a movement protesters have been calling for across the country, from the death of George Floyd in police custody to end of may.
Several other cases of police brutality and alleged systemic racism sparked the national conversation of US lawmakers trying to implement police reforms.
Protesters calling to “disburse the police” want taxpayer funds to be diverted from police systems to support initiatives that focus on community and youth programs. Activists say the measure would help prevent racial injustice by providing opportunities for disadvantaged communities.
Under the new plan outlined by de Blasio, a 1,200-person recruitment course scheduled for next month has been canceled, school security, crossing guards, and the extension of homeless people will no longer be the responsibility of the New York Police Department. York, and overtime expenses will also be reduced.
MAXINE WATERS SAYS THE “TRADITION” OF THE POLICE HAS TO “GET AWAY”, THE “VIOLENCE OF ARGUES DURING THE PROTESTS WAS” LESS “
“We must always have security and we will do it in this city, but we are also going to expand both security and equity by reaching our youth more deeply than ever,” de Blasio said. “And that’s what this budget is about.”
Instead, the funds will be diverted to help communities most affected by the coronavirus, as well as summer youth programs that will help 100,000 youth in the city.
“We are acting on that call for justice,” de Blasio told reporters. “I think our mission is to redistribute resources to those who need them most.”
Other cuts to the New York police budget are reportedly being made. Instead, a new police precinct that was supposed to be built in Queens will be a new community center, and broadband Internet service will be available to some public housing units.
NEW YORK CITY DEMONSTRATORS FACE THE POLICE OUTSIDE THE CITY HALL BEFORE THE BUDGET HEARING; 2 DETAINEES
“It was a challenge … figuring out the priorities, it’s not easy,” de Blasio said, referring to the massive costs incurred by the coronavirus and the reconfiguration of the city’s new annual budget.
“Nine billion dollars evaporated, they only disappeared over the course of a few months,” the Democratic mayor told reporters, describing the devastating financial effects of the coronavirus.
De Blasio noted that the city would make adjustments to funds allocated in the event of a disaster, but that the new budget aims to reduce daily costs, such as overtime expenses for police officers who attend court or complete paperwork. . Overtime costs alone incurred in the recent George Floyd protests totaled $ 115 million.
The budget agreed Tuesday is $ 88 billion, which is $ 7 billion less than de Blasio had previously proposed before the coronavirus outbreak, and $ 5 billion less than the allocated budget for 2020.
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“We need to think differently about how we support youth in this city. We have made many changes before, but we have to go much further, ”said de Blasio. “New York Police will focus on helping youth”
“Our young people need to be contacted, not watched, contacted.”
David Aaro, Edmund DeMarche and The Associated Press of Fox News contributed to this report.
