De Blasio seeks $1 billion police cut amid Occupy City Hall protest
NEW YORK (AP) — A week after a “defund the police” protest became a full-blown occupation outside City Hall, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday he has a plan for the NYPD budget to be slashed by $1 billion.
The mayor, a Democrat, declined to discuss the sources of what he called “savings” for the nation’s largest police department, saying at a news briefing that the cuts are still being negotiated with the City Council. But he said spending on capital projects would be reduced by $500 million and there could be changes to the department’s role in policing schools.
Money would be deferred to the city’s chronically underfunded public housing system and to youth programs, de Blasio said.