John, 

From Minneapolis, to Los Angeles, to New York, cries for justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and our Black brothers and sisters have transformed into the radical reenvisioning of our communities. Across the country, people are coming together to demand that we defund the police, dismantle racial oppression, and build a better world. 

Just a few months ago, defunding the police would’ve seemed like a pipe dream. Now, it’s right within our reach—we need to use this moment to keep pushing forward and to demand Mayor de Blasio and the City Council cut at least $1B from the NYPD’s bloated budget. 

With a major deficit looming, the Mayor has proposed some of the most expansive cuts to education, housing, and human services in recent history—including over $2B in cuts to education and over $1B in cuts to affordable housing—in the middle of a pandemic that has laid bare and exacerbated the systemic health and economic inequalities that burden Black, Latinx, and immigrant communities.  

Taxpayer dollars shouldn’t be spent on the militarization of police and over-policing of Black communities and other communities of color. They should be spent on investing in our children’s futures and reshaping a world sculpted by injustice. 

In solidarity with Black New Yorkers and criminal justice advocates, we’re fighting to #DefundNYPD and to put that funding back into the community. #NYCBudgetJustice can be achieved through cuts in several programs including (as identified in Communities United for Police Reform’s report ‘The Path Forward’):

• Freezing New NYPD Hires

• Removing Police from Schools

• Cutting 500 NYPD Transit Bureau Officers

• Canceling January 2020 and April 2020 Academy Classes

We have less than two weeks until the Council passes the budget! Take action today to tell your Council Member and Mayor de Blasio that we deserve a budget that prioritizes people over police and helps New Yorkers most burdened by COVID-19 to rebuild and thrive.

Momentum is on our side—we have an opportunity to make real change and to reinvest money in the things we’ve been fighting for all along: cash assistance for our immigrant neighbors in need; legal defense services for those without the means; an education system that supports every student; and an economy that’s fair for every New Yorker.

Let’s get this done!

#DefundNYPD

In power, 

Murad Awawdeh 
Executive Vice President of Advocacy