New York, NY - In response to Mayor Adams’ FY24 Preliminary Budget, Communities United for Police Reform released the following statement today by CPR spokesperson Salma Allam (she/her), Coalition Organizer at Arab American Association of NY.
“Today, Mayor Adams released a FY24 Preliminary Budget that makes even deeper cuts to essential services for New Yorkers in the next two years. Instead of protecting staffing and funding for critical agencies, the Mayor has cut early childhood education, libraries, CUNY, and other critical agencies such as the Civilian Complaint Review Board, Human Resource Administration, the Department of Homeless Services, and the Department of Youth and Community Development, to name a few. Mayor Adams continues to sacrifice essential services while protecting and preserving an over-bloated police budget. Protecting the NYPD's bloated budget from financial and personnel cuts will not make our city safer and will only serve to increase criminalization of communities the Mayor is neglecting to serve and support.
“Mayor Adams has consistently positioned the NYPD to serve as primary responders to a range of public health and safety issues that they are not qualified to address and that stem from long-standing under-investments in housing, health, and education. The mayor’s FY23 budget, including the November Plan released last month, and today’s FY24 preliminary budget are not addressing root causes of the challenges facing our city. It will further jeopardize the lives of New Yorkers if he continues to prioritize policing over adequately funding essential services and programs we depend on to survive and thrive.
“Communities across the city are clear on what we need in a FY24 budget: immediate and long-term sustainable investment in communities and critical services, and meaningful cuts to the bloated NYPD budget. This is the path forward toward a safer and more thriving city for all New Yorkers. Mayor Adams must immediately change his approach to our city’s budget by prioritizing community investment, not policing. CPR, our movement partners and supporters have a real, sustainable vision for a budget and a city that serves our communities. Together will be leading the charge to fight for that future.”
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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.