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New York City’s battle over the NYPD’s multibillion-dollar budget has begun
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Feb 13, 2023
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Michael M. Santiago
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Feb 13, 2023
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More than two years after calls to “defund the police” broke out across the country, the NYPD’s roughly $5 billion budget is once again poised to become a source of conflict among New York City Democrats.
As they head into budget negotiations, several progressives on the City Council say they plan to prioritize reducing police funding. The council’s powerful Progressive Caucus recently rewrote its bylaws to include a commitment to “reduce the size and scope of the NYPD and the Department of Correction.”
The move to clarify the caucus’s mission has fractured the group, bringing its membership down from 35 — the highest number in its history — to 20 Democrats. (Altogether, the council is made of 45 Democrats and six Republicans.) Those who wanted to remain in the caucus were required to sign onto the new list of priorities, which included reducing police funding.
The looming fight, which will once again pit Mayor Eric Adams against his party's left-leaning members, represents an ideological divide not only within the Democratic Party, but also over the best way to tackle police reform. Those on the left say the history of racialized violence by police demands a reimagining of public safety, while others are pushing for better training and internal reforms.
Although the move to redefine the Progressive Caucus began last year**,** a broader conversation about shrinking police budgets reopened following the killing of Tyre Nichols, a Black Memphis man beaten to death by five police officers.
“There's no evidence that increased training reduces violence against civilians,” said Queens Councilmember Tiffany Cabán, a member of the Progressive Caucus.
She and other progressive lawmakers, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, argue that New Yorkers would be better served by reallocating some police funds to social services and programs like youth employment that address the root causes of crime.
“Time and time again, people will say budgets are moral documents,” Cabán said. “And you only need to look at the budget line items to know that we have a real problem.”
Opposing Democrats are lining up around the issue, which cuts across the familiar lines of class, generation and race.
Adams, a former NYPD captain who is the city’s second Black mayor, went on the offensive last week by criticizing “woke” Democrats during two national TV appearances.
While speaking on CNN, he brought up the Progressive Caucus, saying that a small minority had “hijacked the term progressive.”
“They're calling for removing members of their own caucus if they don't sign a pledge to defund the police,” he added. “That is not who we are as Democrats. And I'm going to continue to stand and state that we're pro-public safety and we're pro-proper policing.”
Adams and some other Black and Latino Democrats contend that neighborhoods that are home to people of color, which are often the hardest hit by violent crime, want police presence.
In a tweet, Bronx Councilmember Rafael Salamanca, Jr. challenged the two chairs of the Progressive Caucus — Lincoln Restler and Shahana Hanif — to visit his district, which is home to many low-income families.
Salamanca Jr. pointed out that the progressive councilmembers represent some of the city’s most affluent communities, suggesting that they do not share the same risks and fears about crime as his constituents**.** Restler’s Brooklyn district encompasses Boerum Hill and Brooklyn Heights, while Hanif’s constituents include those who live in Park Slope and Carroll Gardens.
The clash between progressives and other Democrats is not new.
In 2020, the police killing of George Floyd sparked national protests and a campaign to reduce police spending. It ultimately led the Council and Mayor Bill de Blasio to agree to a $1 billion reduction in the NYPD’s budget, although some councilmembers and experts questioned the true scale of the cuts.
But the “defund” movement lost momentum the following year, as crime and public safety became focal points for voters and the candidates running to succeed de Blasio.
Some are pushing for compromise. In an interview on WNYC’s "The Brian Lehrer Show" on Friday, de Blasio, who was also once a councilmember, expressed his concerns about the Progressive Caucus's language around police funding.
“There’s the right way to invest in police and the right way to invest in community services, and it’s not like an either/or,” he said. “I can understand why some members are uncomfortable with it.”
Those on the left, however, say the pendulum on policing has shifted too far to the other side.
“It seemed as if there was this shift over a couple of months of elected officials caring about police reform to them completely not caring about it at all — and actually advocating for more money to go to the police,” said Brooklyn Councilmember Chi Ossé, a member of the Progressive Caucus.
Ossé argues that the push to reduce NYPD spending is a matter of fairness. As the city faces an uncertain fiscal future, the mayor is proposing a series of controversial cuts to schools, libraries and social programs.
“It seems as if the NYPD is one of the only agencies that's being spared,” Ossé said. “However, there is fat to trim there. And I think what I am at least pushing for as an elected official is for our government to do the right thing.”
Whether a smaller Progressive Caucus, which has the ability to vote as a bloc, can bring action on a fraught policy issue like policing is unclear.
Caucus leaders maintain that ideological unity will make the political bloc more effective. They have also defended their decision to make reducing police funding part of their mission.
“I think we had a strong democratic process that came to this language,” said Restler, the Brooklyn councilmember who co-chairs the caucus. “And we believe that the statement of principles accurately reflects the values of the caucus.”
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Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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