After passing an $88 billion budget after midnight on Wednesday, the New York City Council slashed the $1 billion NYPD budget calling for the removal of a nearly 1,200-person police recruiting class set for next month, according to the Associated Press.
The budget stipulates that overtime spending will need to be cut in half, officers from administrative functions will need to be redeployed to patrol, and police will no longer be responsible for school crossing guards and homeless outreach.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) appeared on CNN’s “New Day” to discuss the impact the budget cuts will have on young Americans.
Host John Berman pointed out the number of shootings in New York City has risen dramatically over the last year and asked de Blasio why it is the right time to cut spending from the police department.
De Blasio argued it is an important time to take money away from policing and invest it into the needs of young Americans.
“Our young people need to be reached, they don’t need to be policed, they need to be reached and supported and nurtured,” de Blasio said.
Watch his comments below:
"Young people…don’t need to be policed, but they need to be reached and supported,” Mayor @BilldeBlasio says about NYC slashing $1 billion from NYPD’s budget.
— CNN This Morning with Kasie Hunt (@CNNThisMorning) July 1, 2020
“We’ve got to do a lot of things differently if we’re going to change the reality for so many of our young people” pic.twitter.com/XwrulPUEz1
Nationwide protests have broken out with the common message, “defund the police,” over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, as IJR previously reported.
Some call for abolishing the police departments entirely while others call for a slash to police budgets.
Berman noted that critics argue some of the cuts he has made “aren’t real,” including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
Ocasio-Cortez said de Blasio’s proposal is “disingenuous” and “not a victory,” as IJR previously reported.
Berman asked for de Blasio’s response.
“She’s just wrong,” de Blasio said. “The facts are we took money from the NYPD, put it into youth programs, we’re reducing the size of the NYPD, but still in a way that can keep us safe.”