Photos: YouTube Screenshots
New York, New York- In response to Mayor Eric Adams’ proposed New York City budget, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) issued the following statement from CPR spokesperson Loyda Colon (they/them), Executive Director of the Justice Committee:
“Mayor Adams’ latest round of budget cuts to essential services and the wrongful blaming of migrants instead of taking responsibility for his administration’s mismanagement of migrant funds — is cruel and unnecessarily devastating to New Yorkers. Libraries, housing, CUNY, pre-K, food programs, sanitation, healthcare and other areas being slashed by the November budget plan are crucial community safety infrastructure that helps keep New Yorkers healthy and safe and shouldn’t be facing yet another round of cuts.
“While reports that the NYPD may face a hiring freeze are being framed as a major cut, New Yorkers should understand that it’s actually continued preferential treatment for an abusive and massive police force with outsized power. Other agencies have been under a hiring freeze and have faced massive cuts for almost the entirety of Eric Adams’ mayoral administration, while the NYPD’s bloated spending has largely been protected. A hiring freeze, if it’s maintained for the NYPD, is more than appropriate given the NYPD’s outsized burden of over $11 billion on NYC’s budget, the NYPD’s refusal to fire officers who kill, brutalize and sexually harass New Yorkers, and the outrageous reality that one out of every six NYC municipal workers are NYPD. However, savings from a temporary hiring freeze on the NYPD are a drop in the bucket and extremely minimal compared to how essential services, especially for low-income New Yorkers of color, have been gutted by this administration’s misplaced budget priorities. The NYPD’s size, scope, budget and power need to be reduced in order to ensure that New Yorkers can thrive.
“It’s well past time to stop wasting resources on criminalization and policing – we should be deeply investing in non-police safety infrastructure like affordable housing, income and food security, education and jobs that New Yorkers have been demanding to help prevent violence, improve safety and help all New Yorkers – including migrants – thrive.”
About Communities United for Police Reform:
Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) is an unprecedented campaign to end discriminatory and abusive policing practices in New York, and to build a lasting movement that promotes public safety and reduces reliance on policing. CPR runs coalitions of over 200 local, statewide and national organizations, bringing together a movement of community members, grassroots organizers, lawyers, researchers and activists to work for change.
