In response to the City Council’s preliminary budget announcement, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) issued the following statement from CPR spokesperson Donavon Taveras, Lead Organizer with El Puente.
“We thank Speaker Adams and Council Members for continuing to defend city agencies and services that Black, Latinx and other communities of color rely on and ensure that funding cuts are restored in FY25 and gaps in services are filled. We also applaud efforts to provide increased transparency of the NYPD budget through smaller units of appropriation, which our campaign has been calling for as well as adequate funding for police oversight through the CCRB. These efforts are all critical to public safety” said CPR spokesperson Donavon Taveras, El Puente. “We applaud the Speaker for her commitment to NYPD accountability and transparency. The NYPD wields immense and illegitimate power in NYC, and their record of violence, obstruction, misinformation, overspending, and their refusal to fire officers who unjustly kill, brutalize and violate the rights of New Yorkers make us all less safe. Instead of holding the NYPD accountable, the Mayor is proposing to reward these bad actions & systemic lack of accountability by proposing a $280 million dollar increase in police spending for FY25.
“We call on the City Council to stop the Mayor's plan to reward NYPD violence & impunity, which makes all of us less safe. In the coming months, we urge the Council to cut the NYPD’s misinformation capacity by cutting their press and communications budget by at least 50%; institute a hiring freeze of school officers and cut funding for remaining vacant school police positions; disband the abusive SRG unit; remove the NYPD from mental health “co-response teams” and redirect these savings to the crucial schools, mental health, and other programs that will increase New Yorkers' safety and health. We cannot continue to let Mayor Adams write the NYPD a blank check while the NYPD refuses to fire officers who kill and brutalize. We must reduce the NYPD's massive $12B annual spending and redirect this funding to support Black, Latinx, and other communities of color in NYC.”
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 5 boroughs, from all walks of life and represent many of those most unfairly targeted by the NYPD.