In the Media

As protests over the killing of George Floyd continue across the country, momentum in New York to repeal a decades-old police transparency law appears to be gaining steam, according to activists and legislators involved in the effort, in what they say would be a major step forward in the fight for police reform.

It’s the $1-billion solution.

Activists — and perhaps soon, some politicians — are focusing on cutting the $6-billion NYPD budget by $1 billion, and redistributed in a way that better benefits long-suffering communities and reduces police brutality.

Crowds took to the streets nearly a week ago in a rage after the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, but as the protests move into their next phase, the question of what it will it take to quell them—what exactly that would look like—is gaining new urgency.

The answer is both simple and complicated. Above all, the protesters say they are looking for justice. But what justice looks like varies by city, by incident, and according to the community's history with police.

The chant was hard to decipher through a bullhorn on a Tribeca street Sunday night, all the more so because the message was a bit unfamiliar. But, listen to the video posted online enough times, and you can make out what the protester was yelling: “Fuck the PBA!”