NYC Budget Justice

What $1 Billion of the NYPD’s Budget Could Do for Housing

Investing in NYCHA and permanent affordable housing for low-income New Yorkers are just some of the suggestions.
06/12/2020
Curbed

As New Yorkers protested against racism and police brutality over the past few weeks, the NYPD was caught on video clashing with demonstrators several times: shoving a 20-year-old woman against the pavement, hitting individuals with batons, and driving into a crowd with an SUV.

How the U.S. could reform police in response to protests against brutality and racism

06/11/2020
CNBC

Repeated police killings of black Americans have sparked the widest push for law enforcement reform in years. 

The nationwide movement fueled by George Floyd’s death last month has already kick-started change in cities and states. The coming months will help to determine just how far officials go in reshaping departments — and whether Congress will join state and local lawmakers in taking steps to overhaul policing. 

Policymakers across the country have targeted several major areas in their reform discussions, including:

NYPD Eliminated Their Plainclothes Officer Unit — But This Disguises A Larger Problem

06/16/2020
Refinery 29

Following weeks of protests around the country, and non-stop protests in all boroughs of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday that the New York Police Department (NYPD) will be disbanding its anti-crime unit of plainclothes officers. Going forward, according to the announcement, officers will not be on active duty wearing civilian clothing and instead will be in uniform.

For immediate release: June 16, 2020

The Path Forward: How to Defund the NYPD by at least $1 Billion, Invest in Communities & Make NYC Safer

New York, NY (June 16, 2020) – Today, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) released a new policy report on #NYCBudgetJustice which illustrates specific steps the New York City Council and Mayor Bill de Blasio must make to cut at least $1 billion from NYPD’s FY21 expense budget to ensure that monies can be redirected to protect and strengthen essential services, programs and infrastructure that address key needs of Black, Latinx and other NYC communities of color for an equitable transition in the COVID-19 period. You can read the report here.
For immediate release: June 12, 2020

Communities United for Police Reform: City Council Pledge to Cut $1B from NYPD a Good Start

New York City Council leaders issued a statement late Friday responding to Communities United for Police Reform’s demand for $1 billion in cuts to the NYPD’s budget. In response to that pledge, CPR issued the following statement, attributable to CPR spokesperson Anthonine Pierre.

What George Floyd Protestors Around the Country Want in Order to End Demonstrations

06/04/2020
Newsweek

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.

In New York City, Momentum Behind Cutting the NYPD Budget Is Growing

Activists and advocates in New York City have long called for the city to make sharp cuts to the NYPD, the nation's largest police force.
06/05/2020
Jacobin

As protesters continue to meet a massive police presence on the streets of New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the city council are under pressure to defund the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and reduce its power. Momentum is building for cuts — the question is how substantial those cuts will be.

What NYC could do with its $6 billion police budget

06/05/2020
Curbed

At a City Council hearing in late May, Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, urged for sweeping cuts to the proposed budget for the New York City Police Department.

“No one knows better than me that when you prioritize, fund, and shield the NYPD—instead of investing in our communities—the impact is devastating for black and Latinx communities,” she said. “In the most extreme cases, the impact is deadly. For me and my family, it means that Eric is gone forever.”

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