Statement by New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer on FY 2021 Adopted Budget

“A budget is as much a moral document as a financial one. It should reflect our values and the strength of our commitment to progress. The budget the City Council is set to approve fails that test. It fails to answer the calls of New Yorkers who deserve and demand systemic change.

“The ‘$1 billion cut’ to the NYPD proposed by the Mayor and the City Council is not a $1 billion cut—it’s a bait and switch and a paper-thin excuse for reform. That is especially true of proposals to slash uniformed police overtime by 60% with no plan on how to get there. And the same is true of the gimmicks in this proposal that only reshuffles the deck and folds our opportunity to bring change. Meaningful change in this moment won’t come by shifting police from one agency to another, and budget tricks won’t bring an end to the status quo. The movement in the streets won’t be suppressed by manipulated math.

“Black and Brown New Yorkers are disproportionately dying from COVID-19, are disproportionately policed and killed by law enforcement, and are disproportionately victims of mass incarceration. A budget that does not reckon with these realities and does not make real investments in community safety and an equitable recovery is not the budget this city needs.”

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