NYC Mayor De Blasio rolls out plan shifting funds away from NYPD amid calls to defund the police

By Chris White

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan to shift funding away from the city’s police department and toward youth programs Sunday, as activists push for defunding police departments.

De Blasio’s plan is part of a suggestion from the mayor’s task force on racial inclusion, which is chaired by his wife, activist Chirlane McCray. Decisions about police funding must ensure New Yorkers’ safety is a priority, the mayor said during a press briefing.

“We will be moving funding from the NYPD to youth initiatives and social services,” de Blasio said during the hour-long press conference Sunday addressing potential police reforms.

De Blasio’s announcement comes after he was booed during a vigil for George Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled down on his neck for more than 8 minutes, video of the incident shows. “Defund the police” has become a common slogan among protesters and left-wing figures.

De Blasio added: “The details will be worked out in the budget process in the weeks ahead. But I want people to understand that we are committed to shifting resources to ensure that the focus is on our young people.”

“This is a beginning. I want it to be abundantly clear to all New Yorkers. These are first steps to what will be 18 months of making intense change in this city. The work of this task force is crucial,” de Blasio said. “This is a transformative moment.”

Street vendor enforcement will also “no longer be the responsibility of the NYPD,” de Blasio added during the briefing. A civilian agency will now be responsible for policing citizens’ interactions with city vendors, he said without mentioning the agency.

Floyd’s death sparked nationwide protests, and resulted in second-degree murder and manslaughter charges being brought against the police officer, Derek Chauvin, who was immediately fired after the incident. The NYPD arrested hundreds of protesters, rioters and looters during the protests in New York City.

A campaign emerged after his death to reduce police department funds across the country and redirect such resources to other services.

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3 thoughts on “NYC Mayor De Blasio rolls out plan shifting funds away from NYPD amid calls to defund the police

  1. DeBlasio has been a disaster from day one. When the virus first appeared on the scene , the big D and his minions shouted that there was no reason for concern, ride the subways, go to parades, eat out, joint the crowds, enjoy the outdoors have a blast. Well at the end of the day, New Yotk City became the epicenter of the virus resulting in thousands of needless deaths. Now that stupid type of thinking has led this idiot to reducing funding to the one organization, New York’s finest, the men and women in blue, who can maintain order during these most difficult times. New Yorkers deserve better.

  2. Vermont has been doing something similar for years, we don’t move the funds, we do pay our police. What we do is not allow police to do their job, we let the criminals go in most cases.

    We allow drug dealers to run rampant. We allow fraud to pass by unfettered. We have the lowest ethical grade in the nation and completely neuter a new oversight department, allowing shady deals to multiple and Justice to never see the light.

    This has brought us, eB -5 scandal, town clerks pilfering millions, drug dealers released because of profiling, leading our nation in addicted births, cozy deals where a lobbyist pays an entire political party to do their bidding, think planned. Parenthood and our governor, VNRC doing the bidding of the United nation and the new world order, ignoring our constitutuion while declaring we are a democracy.

    See we are the test case, the tip of the socialist spear. It is why we are unaffordable, it is why young families struggle and seek other states, it is why the migrants, illegal and legal seek other states, it is why our youth leave, it why our drug and alcohol use is high, it is why we have trapped and create more poor.

    We have a malaise known as socialism, it causes,the same results where ever it is adopted. Time to shake our malaise for a better path, of Love Joy and Peace. Foundational,wisdom upon which our republic is based.

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