“New York City residents are waking up in a city that is less safe than the one they had just 24 hours ago. The City Council’s decision last night to cut $1 billion from the New York Police Department (NYPD) is the worst possible decision at the worst possible time.

We’re only halfway through 2020 and have already seen:

• career criminals arrested, released and rearrested multiple times thanks to the get-out-of-jail-free approach of bail reform;
• more than 600 victims in New York City killed or injured in over 500 shootings – a 44-percent rise in shooting incidents from 2019; and
• rioters and looters flooding the city’s streets on a mission to cause injury, destroy neighborhoods and rob businesses, causing tens of millions of dollars in damages.

The majority of New Yorkers, both statewide and in New York City, summarily reject measures to defund police. The Council’s budget action isn’t motivated by developing sound policy. It’s motivated by fear of unhinged extremists trying to promote a dangerous, out-of-touch agenda, regardless of who it hurts.

This is just the latest in a continuous movement by Majority politicians across New York to undermine the law-enforcement professionals who risk their lives every day. From bail reform, to letting cop-killers loose, to defunding police, the liberal list of pro-criminal priorities gets longer every day.

The primary duty of elected officials is to protect citizens from harm and ensure public safety. New York Majority has once again turned their backs on that responsibility.”