NYC Mayor Agrees to Cut $1 Billion From NYPD, But Reformers Call BS

N. Jamiyla Chisholm, Colorlines, June 30, 2020. The original version of this article appeared in Colorlines and can be found here. Following a major tug-of-war between New York City public officials and activists, Mayor Bill de Blasio finally agreed to cut $1 billion from the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) massive budget Tuesday (June 30), NBC New York reports. The NYPD cut is part of an $88.1 billion proposed budget “that includes deep cuts to the police department and other city agencies,” de Blasio told NBC New York. On June 29, nearly 40 faith leaders in New York City, from a variety of denominations, signed a letter to de Blasio and the New York City Council to demand that the city divest at least $1 billion from the NYPD for the public health and welfare of Black and Latinx New Yorkers, among other divestment calls. It reads in part:  The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others by police, as well as the loss of over 17,000 deaths due to the Coronavirus in our city, has made it clear that systemic and structural racism is a public health emergency in our Black and Latinx communities. There is a great opportunity in this moment to create legislation and implement a FY 2021 budget that honors all those Black and Latinx lives whose breath has been stopped by police brutality, and all those gasping for air in communities that are living the daily impact of underfunding and neglect.  The letter was sent in advance of the city’s July 1...

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Van Bramer Says He’ll Listen to Public Housing Residents on Rezonings

Councilmember and Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer addresses the Justice for All Coalition at Queensbridge Houses’ community center on October 16, 2017. Originally published By Abigail Savitch-Lew | October 17, 2017 Link to original article published on citylimits.org On Monday night, City Council Majority Leader and local Councilmember James Van Bramer addressed a crowded room in the basement of Queensbridge Houses’ community center, promising them “whatever happens going forward, we will do it together.” The “town hall” was organized by the Justice for All Coalition, an alliance of public-housing residents, labor and church groups that formed in April of 2016 in response to...

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FAITH IN NEW YORK QUIZZES DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES ON KEY ISSUES OF IMMIGRATION, POLICING, AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND BUILD A TRUE SANCTUARTY CITY

NEW YORK (July 28, 2017) – Faith in New York (FINY) and it’s Faith over Fear coalition of more than 90 congregations and over 25 faith and justice groups, hosted four major Democratic mayoral candidates Thursday, questioning them on topics ranging from immigration, to policing, religious freedom and mass incarceration. As part of FINY’s “Faith Over Fear” campaign, more than two dozen more dozen clergy and organizational leaders of FINY heard Mayor Bill de Blasio and candidates Sal Albanese, Robert Gangi and Michael Tolkin outline their positions on the coalition’s core issues. “We wanted to talk about the moral lens of Faith in New York and the Faith Over Fear coalition,” FINY Executive Director Onleilove Alston said. “We are all united to ensure that morals and progressive values are put at the center of the conversation this election season.” She said we are living in a “moral crisis” that must be addressed and our response must include: protecting immigrant communities and religious freedom, ending civil rights violations and abusive policing, creating affordable housing as well as ending mass incarceration, and climate change. “It is a real moral failure that in this city children are going to sleep homeless,” she told the candidates, who were interviewed separately over the course of the day at Middle Collegiate Church on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Mayor de Blasio noted his accomplishments,...

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Citywide Coalition of Faith Leaders and Faith-Based Organizations to Announce Faith Over Fear Week of Action & Resistance

March 10, 2017 CONTACT: Analisa Freitas, Bronx Organizer, Faith in New York, 929.666.2824, analisa@faithinnewyork.org Media Advisory ***Date: 03-14-2017*** Faith leaders call on Mayor De Blasio to “Build the Beloved City” NY, NY – A coalition of faith leaders from 90 congregations and 20 faith-based organizations announce today a Faith Over Fear Week of Action & Resistance to challenge unjust policies and practices that create a culture of fear. The week of resistance actions, organized by Faith in New York and their coalition allies, will include civil disobedience, a healing prayer circle, events at Council Member offices, and other public actions. The Faith Over Fear daily actions are highlighted below: On Wednesday, March 15 at 12 pm EST we will host a “funeral for affordable housing” disrupting the REBNY luncheon, the monied interest behind many elected officials. The disruption will be in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton of NY, 1335 Avenue of the Americas. On Thursday, March 16 at 6 pm EST, we will lead a march to 201 Varick Street and shut down streets as a form of civil disobedience. The event will start with a rally at Washington Square Park. On Friday, March 17 at 11 am EST we will lead pray-ins in support of the Right to Know Act. The event will be held at the district offices of several council members who have not fully...

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Top NYC Mayoral Candidates Skip Faith-Based Forum In Harlem

Originally Published on Observer  The three top candidates to lead the city—Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio, GOP real estate executive Paul Massey and Republican Staten Island Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis—decided not to appear at a forum last night organized by faith groups and centered on the needs of minorities. Massey, Malliotakis and de Blasio were invited to participate in the “Faith over Fear” discussion and debate at the First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem, an event put together by a coalition of 25 faith-based organizations and leaders from more than 100 congregations throughout the city seeking. Onleilove Alston, executive director...

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Brother of innocent Rikers inmate who killed himself is running for mayor

Originally Published on New York Post  The brother of a young man who killed himself after being locked in Rikers Island for years for a crime he didn’t commit is running for Mayor on the Green Party ticket. Activist Akeem Browder — whose younger brother Kalief committed suicide at age 22 in 2015 – crashed a mayoral candidates forum in Harlem Thursday night to announce his candidacy and convinced organizers to let him participate. Browder was quietly tapped as the Green Party’s mayoral candidate last week. Browder, who previously called de Blasio’s shutdown plan for Rikers Island a “publicity...

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Massey cancels participation in Thursday mayoral forum

Originally Published on Politico Organizers for the “Faith Over Fear” non-partisan mayoral forum said they are “deeply disappointed” Republican mayoral candidate Paul Massey has canceled his participation in their Thursday night event. Massey’s campaign spokeswoman Mollie Fullington said the candidate pulled out because, “the entire event changed at the last minute: the moderator, the tone, the format. The plan was for Paul to engage in an open-ended, open-minded discussion about the important issues of faith and the community and it is now clear it is an agenda-driven event.” Onleilove Alston, the executive director of Faith in New York, which...

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