The City Council and the Mayor’s Administration, Eric Adams, continue with the discussions to define how the budget of more than $102,000 million dollars for the next fiscal year, which must be approved before July 1, will be used, and In the communities, leaders and activists have already put on their gloves to press from the outside for the allocation of resources that help meet the main needs of immigrants and workers.
This was announced this Wednesday by the organization Make the Road NY, after the launch of its platform of struggle “Dignity, Community and Power for the City of New York”, with which its 25,000 members are urging the Municipal Government to put a stop to attempts to cut millions of dollars in resources in vital services that will severely affect low-income New Yorkers, immigrants and disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Warning that they are more than ready to take to the streets to demonstrate until the Mayor and the City legislature stop ignoring urgent needs, such as protection for immigrants from deportation, free legal aid services, investment in affordable housing, expansion of the NYC Care health care program, elimination of the police force in schools, support for mental health programs and protection of workers, asked not to be ignored.
Natalia Aristizabal, Associate Director of Make the Road NY, reminded the Mayor and City Council that they cannot turn a deaf ear to the needs of New Yorkers.
“They can’t ignore us. They have the responsibility to move laws and money, which is going to impact the immigrant and community of color, and we are not going to allow this time to happen like what we saw last year, where under the excuse of promoting austerity they it took money from the Department of Education,” said the activist.
“They have to know that the way the resources are invested is how the city will advance and they have a moral responsibility to continue helping newcomers, but also those who have been here for years. The City has the money, we have to rearrange it, take funds away from the police and invest it in schools, the working class, housing, health and support for our communities”, added Aristizabal.
Through their demands, where the plan to continue cutting funding to schools was criticized, Make the Road NY stated that they seek to prioritize funding and legislation to make the Big Apple more affordable and truly a Sanctuary City for immigrants. and working-class communities of color. Also, protect sex workers and ensure fair pay for human service nonprofits.
“I am worried about the future of my children and the children of my community because they attend schools that lack extracurricular activities, programs, art and music classes. Our public schools are second homes for many of our children. We reject the cuts proposed by Mayor Adams and urge the Mayor and Council to fully fund public schools so that they receive a quality education and the ability to prosper,” said Flaviana Linares, mother of the family.
Daniel López, a member of Make the Road New York, criticized the alliances that law enforcement such as the NYPD has made with ICE to violate the rights of undocumented immigrants protected by municipal laws and called for the approval of regulations that curb abuses and offer help law to those who need it.
“For too long, local law enforcement has colluded with immigration authorities to detain and deport our communities, which must stop,” said the Mexican. “Many New Yorkers with immigration cases are unable to obtain legal representation in their immigration court cases because, unlike in the criminal law context, the government is not required to provide legal advice to people who are about to be deported. The city budget should include additional funds for legal representation for all New York City residents, regardless of immigration status.”
Julia Cabrera, a tenant affected by the lack of affordable housing options, after explaining that she went from paying $2,100 in rent for her apartment to $3,200, and is on the verge of eviction, fearing that she would end up with her family in a shelter, asked that the budget for the City allocates more funds to the CityFHEPS program, which helps homeless people more easily connect to permanent housing through voucher support.
“(The program) should expand its eligibility to all New Yorkers, regardless of their immigration status, so that our people can safely transition from shelters to apartments so they can live in safe and affordable housing,” said the immigrant. “The City Council and the Mayor must pass legislation to ensure that all New Yorkers have safe and affordable housing. And also for the city to make sure that landlords stop neglecting repair needs and stop harassing tenants by holding them accountable with penalties.”
What the Make the Road NY agenda calls for within the budget for NYC
- Protecting NYC immigrants from deportation
- $16.6 million to fund the Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP) which ensures immigrants detained by ICE have access to a lawyer
- Additional $50 million investment for immigration legal services
- $1 million to provide access to counseling for community members who are detained and facing deportation, or who are at risk of being detained by ICE
- Reform immigration detention laws to prevent collusion between ICE and local law enforcement such as the NYPD, Department of Corrections (DOC), or Department of Probation (DOP) and from disclosing information about individuals under their control custody to federal authorities
- Ensuring that all New Yorkers have the right to safe and healthy housing
- Expand CityFHEPS housing support voucher program to shelter residents, regardless of immigration status
- Ensure that landlords meet the repair needs of tenants and do not continue to evade responsibility without civil penalties
- Invest in educational equity
- Restore $9.16 million funding to 52 community schools facing budget cuts so they can continue to serve
- comprehensive to students and their families
- Fully fund adult literacy programs, restoring $20.4 million
- Implement a cessation of the hiring of school police officers, including the financing of the 600 vacant positions.
- Defund $47.5 million dedicated to police “enhanced security measures” at schools
- Disband the $106.2 million Youth Liaison Officers and reinvest those funds into restorative justice, mental health support, and other personnel such as counselors.
- End the police in schools and use the $450 million that goes into it to fund resources, staff, and restorative practices that support all young people to learn better.
- Reduce the $11 billion annual budget for the NYPD and ensure transparency and redirect its resources to community-based security solutions and infrastructure such as housing, mental health, education, and youth services.
- Dismantle the so-called $25 million NYPD “VICE” Unit, and remove social services functions from police, using its funds to support people engaged in commercial sex, increased access to health services and welfare, competent legal representation, and educational opportunities.
- Eliminate the $5.7 million NYPD Mental Health Co-Response Teams and the $30 million Homeless Police Force, within the Department of Homelessness, and use those resources to fund non-police solutions for community safety in mental health, harm reduction, homeless assistance, housing, and education and youth services.
- Strengthen protections and opportunities for workers, promoting laws that prevent dismissals without justification
- Renew the $3 million Low Wage Worker Support (LWWS) initiative and improve assistance to legal service providers and community organizations that represent workers in cases of wage theft, discrimination and other claims.
- Expand access to health care from the NYC Care program to guarantee free or low-cost services to New Yorkers who are undocumented and ineligible for health insurance, with $100 million annually.