Press Releases

For immediate release: July 1, 2020

#DefundNYPD Campaign: Council Budget Vote Fails to Cut at least $1B from NYPD to Invest in Black, Latinx & other Communities of Color During Pandemic

Budget deploys fuzzy math and exempts NYPD from hiring freeze as teachers, social service and other essential workers and programs are left out to dry

New York, NY (July 1, 2020) – Today, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR), the unprecedented campaign uniting New York’s organizing and advocacy organizations to end police violence and imagine a future of safety without relying on police – and the coordinator of the coalition of 200 organizations demanding #DefundNYPD for #NYCBudgetJustice – issued the following statement following the City Council’s budget vote:

For immediate release: June 29, 2020

CPR Slams Mayor de Blasio & Speaker Johnson for Playing Budget Tricks to Protect NYPD Budget Instead of Social Safety Net & Programs in Pandemic: New Yorkers Won’t Accept Anything Less Than a True $1 Billion NYPD Cut & True Reinvestment in Communities

New York, NY (June 29, 2020) – Communities United for Police Reform (CPR), the unprecedented campaign uniting New York’s organizing and advocacy organizations to end police violence and imagine a future of safety without relying on the police - and the coordinator of the coalition of almost 200 organizations demanding #DefundNYPD for #NYCBudgetJustice, today issued the following statement responding to reporting on Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council’s anticipated budget announcement:
For immediate release: June 23, 2020

In Letter to Mayor de Blasio and Speaker Johnson More than 170 Community Organizations Endorse Campaign to #DefundNYPD For #NYCBudgetJustice

NEW YORK, NY — Today, more than 170 local & national organizations, brought together by Communities United for Police Reform (CPR), released a follow-up to their April letter calling on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson to cut at least $1 billion directly from the NYPD expense budget by the June 30th deadline and redirect resources for FY21 to core social programs that are essential for Black, Latinx and other communities hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.
For immediate release: June 18, 2020

NY Actors & Activists Release Video Call on Mayor de Blasio and City Council to Cut At Least $1B from NYPD Budget & Redirect Funds to Black, Latinx & other Communities of Color

New video features Billy Porter, Mark Ruffalo, John Leguizamo, Tituss Burgess, Claude Copeland, Brandon Victor Dixon, Kathy Najimy, Fisher Stevens, and frontline activists

Hollywood and Broadway actors from New York teamed up with activists in a new video calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Council to defund the NYPD’s FY21 expense budget by at least $1B and redirect those monies to crucial services, programs and infrastructure in Black, Latinx and other communities of color. In the video, they call on Mayor de Blasio and the City Council to take at least $1 billion out of the NYPD’s bloated almost $6 billion expense budget and invest it instead in the city’s youth and communities of color – to reduce police violence and help ensure an equitable recover from COVID-19 for NYC’s Black, Latinx and other communities of color. The video was created in partnership with Communities United for Police Reform (CPR), Working Families Party, About Face and We Stand United.
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

Victory: Communities United for Police Reform Celebrates Safer NY Act Being Signed Into Law

New York, NY (June 12, 2020) – After years of organizing across New York City and New York State, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) celebrated Governor Cuomo signing into law a series of bills collectively called the Safer NY Act that together increase police transparency and help increase accountability around New Yorkers' most common encounters with police.

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.
For immediate release: June 10, 2020

Victory: Communities United for Police Reform Celebrates Package of Civil Rights Laws that Make New Yorkers Safer from Police

New York, NY – After years of organizing across New York City and New York State, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) celebrated the passage of a series of three bills collectively called the Safer NY Act that together increase police transparency and help increase accountability around New Yorkers' m

For immediate release: June 9, 2020

In Anticipation of Assembly Passage, Communities United for Police Reform Celebrates the Repeal of 50-a by New York State Legislature

New York, NY (June 9, 2020) – In anticipation of the New York State Assembly’s passage of the historic #Repeal50a bill, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) and the Safer New York Act coalition that CPR leads are celebrating a milestone bringing New York one step closer to ending the era of police secrecy in New York state, through the repeal of NY’s police secrecy law, 50-a.
For immediate release: June 8, 2020

Communities United for Police Reform Celebrates the Passage of Police-STAT Act by New York State Senate and Assembly

New York, NY (June 8, 2020) – Today, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) celebrated a momentous step that brings New York one step closer to stronger accountability, safety and justice through transparent and reliable access to critical police data via the Police-STAT Act. The #PoliceSTATAct is one of three bills that Albany legislators are expected to vote on this week from CPR's Safer NY Act legislative package. The other two bills are a repeal of New York's police secrecy law (50-a) and a bill that would codify and strengthen the office of special prosecutor to investigate police killings. 

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