NY Mayor Defunded Police Once Again

Democrats’ ambitions to defund police are rising at an unprecedented pace.

Now, the liberal mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, announced to reduce in spending on all city agencies, including police, amid fears of an upcoming economic recession and rising inflation.

Liberal Mayor Braces for More Police Defunding

According to a memo released by Adams’ office, all agencies of NYC will have to reduce their budget by 3% for the 2023 fiscal year, which already started from July 1.

Likewise, Adams is also seeking a reduction of 4.75% in the budget of NYC’s agencies for the 2024 fiscal year.

While describing the need for financial reductions, Adams noted all agencies have to bear the reduced budget, due to the rising economic instability in the city.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) is likely to face the severe consequences of budget reduction, as the city is already grappling with rising crimes.

Compared to last year, crimes are 35.3% higher in NYC this year, which is increasing the need for more police on the streets.

Jacques Jiha, the director of the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget, claimed her office will look into more saving opportunities if the city fails to hit its revenue targets.

Furthermore, Jiha noted stock markets were in severe depression in the fiscal year 2022, which resulted in big investment losses. Therefore, NYC is forced to take extreme economic decisions.

Similarly, Jiha continued, most of the labor contracts of NYC already expired or are set to expire; so the city also needs to negotiate with labor unions. 

Jiha further noted the rising healthcare cost, skyrocketing energy inflation, and the city’s preference to spend money on social services (like shelters for asylum seekers) are urging NYC to reduce its spending.

In addition to that, the worsening economic condition of the country will result in low tax revenue for NYC, which is furthermore worrying the administration, Jiha added.

As the 3% reduction in the finances of NYC is inevitable, Jiha encouraged New Yorkers to increase their productivity and find avenues where the city is wasting extra money.

New Yorkers Will Start Grappling With Rising Crime Again

After George Floyd’s murder, New York’s former Mayor Bill de Blasio reduced police funding by almost $1 billion.

However, this police defunding strategy backfired. Crime increased exponentially in the Big Apple. This time, the NYPD will be deprived of almost $157 million of funding under the new policy.

Furthermore, the Department of Education will have to reduce its budget by $435 million, that too in the presence of a controversial law NY Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed to limit the number of students in classes.

Adams already argued elementary schools will need to spend an additional $500 million a year to comply with the new controversial law signed last week.

This article appeared in Right Wing Insider and has been published here with permission.

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