Nu OriginsFamilies call on NYC Council to vote no on budget that doesn’t directly cut NYPD expense budget by at least $1 billion and redirect all related savings to communities.
New York, NY (June 29, 2020) — Today, family members whose children, siblings, nieces and loved ones were murdered by NYPD released a letter demanding that Mayor Bill de Blasio, NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson and NYC Council Members cut at least $1 billion of the NYPD’s bloated FY21 expense budget by the June 30th deadline and reinvest these funds and additional related savings into the core social programs that are essential for Black, Latinx and other communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
In the letter released today, families of New Yorkers killed by NYPD expressed their utter disappointment at the empty promises from Mayor de Blasio and NYC Council Members regarding NYC budget justice. The letter urges Mayor de Blasio and City Council Members to move beyond their cheap talk and lip service and instead take action if they are truly invested in the safety, security and future of NYC communities. The families demanded Mayor de Blasio and the City Council defund the police by making at least $1 billion in cuts directly from the NYPD’s expense budget before the June 30th deadline to finalize NYC’s FY21 budget.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate our communities of color, cutting at least $1 billion will produce more savings from other areas of the budget that could result in more $2 billion being reinvested in NYC communities — funds that could be the difference between life and death for many New Yorkers.
“We – the families of New Yorkers killed by the NYPD – are part of the #DefundNYPD movement because we know better than anyone what it means to keep paying police who kill, brutalize, threaten and harass our communities,” the families wrote in the letter.
The letter also directed Mayor de Blasio and NYC Council Members to Communities United for Police Reform’s recently released budget report which includes specific details on proposed $1 billion cuts to the NYPD’s expense budget. The report highlights the millions of dollars that these families and other New Yorkers have had to pay because Mayor de Blasio and NYC Council Members have allowed NYPD to keep officers responsible for murdering, brutalizing, and abusing the city’s communities on city payroll, year after year.
“The families will not stand for Mayor de Blasio and Speaker Corey Johnson attempting to use funny math and budget tricks to try to fool New Yorkers into believing they plan to meet the families’ and movement’s demands regarding defunding the NYPD and investing in our communities while still protecting and giving special treatment to the NYPD’s budget,” said Iris Baez, mother of Anthony, Constance Malcolm, mother of Ramarley Graham, and Hertencia Petersen, aunt of Akai Gurley.
“We are calling on all NYC Councilmembers to vote no on any proposed budget that fails to cut at least $1billion directly from the NYPD’s expense budget and reinvest that $1billion plus all related savings in our communities.”
It’s simple. No more funny math. No more budget musical chairs. No more protecting the NYPD. The lives of New Yorkers are at stake and the Speaker, Mayor and full City Council must take immediate action. Our Council Members have a deep moral obligation to our communities and the memories of our loved ones to implement the bold, principled leadership to cut the NYPD’s almost $6 billion bloated expense budget by at least $1billion dollars. At the end of the day, the NYC Council and Mayor de Blasio’s actions will indicate if they are truly willing to fight for our communities.”
The full letter to Mayor de Blasio, Speaker Johnson and City Council Members can be found here.
About Communities United for Police Reform
Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) is an unprecedented campaign to end discriminatory 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, lawyers, researchers and activists to work for change. The partners in this campaign come from all five boroughs, from all walks of life and represent many of those most unfairly targeted by the NYPD.
More Background Information on #NYCBudgetJustice:
In his FY2021 budget proposal, Mayor Bill de Blasio called for devastating cuts to core social services, programs and infrastructure that are crucial to communities of color and have a history of under-investment. The proposed cuts would severely damage education, youth programs (including the Summer Youth Employment Program) and other agencies that are essential to the well-being of NYC’s communities. Despite these substantial cuts, the NYPD budget is largely untouched and even receives special protections in the proposed executive budget.
In response, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) and their #NYCBudgetJustice coalition are demanding that at least $1 billion be cut from the NYPD FY21 expense budget and redirected to core services programs and infrastructure for Black, Latinx and other communities of color to have a chance at an equitable COVID-19 recovery. CPR maintains that NYPD cuts can and should aid in NYC’s COVID-19 recovery, particularly for communities of color that are disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and police brutality.
About the Justice Committee:
The Justice Committee is a grassroots organization dedicated to building a movement to end police violence and systemic racism in New York City. The heart of our work is organizing and uplifting the leadership of families who’ve lost loved ones to police. JC is a co-founder and steering committee member of Communities United for Police Reform.
—
Justice Committee
facebook.com/justicecommitteeny
instagram.com/justicecommittee/
youtube.com/justicecommitteeny
This article “Families of New Yorkers Killed by NYPD Demand At Least $1 Billion in Cuts to NYPD in Letter to Mayor de Blasio, NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson & NYC Council Members”was originally published on The Justice Committee’s website as a Press Release on June 29, 2020. This article has been integrated with video, audio, and social media images. Please, read the original article HERE
