Press Releases

Today, marked the New York City Council FY25 Preliminary Budget Hearing on Public Safety. As part of their campaign for budget justice, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) members and partners offered testimony calling for specific cuts to the NYPD budget to improve the safety and health of all New Yorkers. Those testifying in-person or in writing included: Divad Durant and Merope Peponides from the Justice Committee, Obi Afriye from Legal Defense Fund, Isabelle Leyva from New York Civil Liberties Union, and CPR’s Program Director Ileana Mendez-Peñate. 

Today, the New York City Council voted to override Mayor Eric Adams’ veto of Intro 586 of the How Many Stops Act (HMSA) with a supermajority of votes.  The passage of the How Many Stops Act will bring urgent and necessary transparency about formerly unreported categories of stops - referred to as level 1 and 2 by the NYPD - which constitute the vast majority of the NYPD’s formal “investigative encounters” with civilians.

“This is a historic win for our movement and New Yorkers, especially against the backdrop of a massive misinformation campaign waged by the mayor and NYPD," said Loyda Colón (they/them), spokesperson for Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) and Executive Director of the Justice Committee. "We applaud the City Council for enacting the How Many Stops Act, in spite of the mayor and NYPD's non-stop lies, and thank council members for following the leadership of New Yorkers who are directly impacted by the NYPD's racist and abusive practices. The How Many Stops law will give us a more complete picture of the NYPD's racial profiling and abusive police actions and is an essential step towards true community safety. Council members who voted to enact the legislation over the mayor's veto should be commended for putting the needs of their constituents first, instead of bowing to the illegitimate power and baseless fear-mongering of the NYPD."

In response to Mayor Eric Adams’ veto of Intro 586 of the How Many Stops Act (HMSA),  Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) issued the following statement from CPR spokesperson Sala Cyril, an organizer with the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, and Iris Baez, mother of Anthony Baez (killed by the NYPD in 1994): 

Today, in response to Mayor Adams’ release of his FY25 preliminary budget, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) issued the following statement from Loyda Colon, CPR spokesperson and Executive Director of the Justice Committee (they/them).