The New York City Council passed a budget to defund the NYPD by $1 billion — but nobody seems to like it
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The New York City Council and Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday agreed on a budget that strips the New York Police Department of $1 billion in funding.
The money is being reallocated to youth and community services.
The move came in response to nationwide protests to defund police departments in the wake of George Floyd's death.
But criticism over the budget came from multiple directions. Some said money shouldn't be taken from the police at a time of rising crime, while others said the cuts weren't enough to make real changes.
The New York City Council passed a budget Tuesday that takes $1 billion away from the New York City Police Department.
The move came after nationwide protests calling for police departments to be defunded in the wake of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis.
The NYPD budget cuts, however, had critics on multiple sides. Some said it was not the time to reduce the NYPD's budget since crime is on the rise, while others said the cuts weren't enough to tackle the real issues inside the department.
According to CBS New York, the new budget cancels the July incoming class of 1,100 new officers; the NYPD will be shifted out of school safety, crossing-guard positions, and homeless outreach; and overtime will be reduced.
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That money will instead go to summer youth programming, education, family services, the New York City Housing Authority, park recreation centers, and expanded broadband capabilities in public housing.
Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City agreed in principle to the budget cuts but said it was a "balancing act," according to The New York Times, of trying to change the city and keep it safe.
The budget cuts to the NYPD were the first during de Blasio's six years in office.
Councilman I. Daneek Miller, a cochairman of the City Council's Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus, voted in favor of the budget but said he disagreed with reducing the size of the NYPD.
"Black folks want to be safe like everyone else, we just want to be respected," Miller told The New York Times.
Councilman Donovan Richards voted against the budget deal, saying he didn't think the cut would address the "NYPD's culture."
"A $1 billion budget cut can't address the racism that runs rampant in the NYPD," he said. "We must send a clear message that it's not OK to kettle peaceful protesters, that it's not OK to place Black and brown New Yorkers in a chokehold as they gasp for air."
The City Council's speaker, Corey Johnson, said he wished that the budget cuts were more significant.
"This is a budget process that involves the mayor who would not budge on these items," Johnson said, according to the New York Post.
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