Press Room

"This budget was reached after a historic delay, and for billionaires and Bills owners, it was well worth the wait. When the governor unveiled her preliminary budget proposal, I was concerned that it relied on temporary federal investment and short-term projects, rather than the sustained revenue and long-term programs that New Yorkers need. While this budget includes some key priority initiatives, thanks to dedicated advocates and leaders, last-minute additions to the process by the governor have consumed both immense resources and valuable focus, preventing some of these programs from going far enough. Not only does the final budget exclude any revenue raising measures from the wealthiest New Yorkers, which creates the potential for even positive initiatives to be cut in out-years, it includes a massive giveaway to a Buffalo billionaire to build a new stadium.

"The budget also weakens the criminal justice reforms of 2019 – which the governor admits and the data reinforces are not the cause of the recent rise in crime. Pulling back from progress, conceding to loud, fearmongering voices, is a move away from justice and toward criminalizing lower income New Yorkers of more color.

"I want to commend and thank the advocates and elected leaders who pushed for progressive causes in this budget, and there are several positive investments won – it’s critically important to acknowledge victories won after months and years of organizing and advocacy. Aid to schools at all levels, including for mental healthcare, is a critical investment. A full restoration of TAP funding will help make education more accessible, and additional accessible ERAP funding will help some New Yorkers stay in their homes while the governor inexplicably refuses to pass Good Cause. Residential owner assistance will help people to stabilize through pandemic recovery, although not nearly enough is included, and legalizing to-go cocktails will provide an important revenue source for small businesses still struggling. 

"It’s equally critical to acknowledge areas where the investment was important but insufficient to meet the need or the moment. The state’s investment in gun violence prevention is welcome, but falls far short of the needed resources to strengthen true public safety. Expanding healthcare coverage for undocumented seniors is a significant step, but leaves many New Yorkers without critical coverage. Similarly, undocumented youth are excluded from the state’s investments in childcare – while the funding for childcare represents major progress for working families, it is not truly universal if many immigrant families are left out. Additionally, in the state’s care economy, advocates fought for and secured a raise that is both important in acknowledging that a home care crisis exists, and is inadequate in addressing that crisis – is it not the fair pay workers demanded and deserved.

"Finally, as important as what’s in the budget is what’s been left out. 421-a and its potential replacements which are the same in all but name and number, were rightly rejected from this deal, and we will continue to make sure that these gifts to developers with no real return are not a part of New York’s affordable housing plan. Unfortunately, any real progress on affordable housing such as the voucher program have also been left out – as was the utility relief so many desperately need. Excluded workers are excluded in this budget, as are popular, urgent reforms like the Clean Slate Act. While some significant increases were made in climate funding, the overall shortfall in investment and the suspension of the gas tax will ultimately create significant environmental harm, while regressively failing to provide substantial support or relief for New Yorkers most in need. 

"In proposing her budget in January, the governor invoked the New Deal – but the deal that was reached in this year’s budget feels old, following the same patterns as past administrations and falling short in key areas. Both through the city budget and the remainder of the state legislative session, we must work to address critical gaps and invest in the New Yorkers this budget leaves behind."

"Congratulations to Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on her confirmation and historic ascension to the Supreme Court. The history she makes today will be followed and compounded by the decisions she will craft, as her voice helps to define the direction of our country for decades to come.

"This moment will reverberate across our country as young women, and especially young Black women like my two daughters, see the first Black woman on the Supreme Court and feel the importance of her place in history as well as the impact of her place on the bench. Her record of achievement and her resolve in the face of attacks each speak to the powerful, critical role she will play as an eminently qualified and deeply thoughtful addition to the Court.

"While today we celebrate her confirmation, Justice Jackson’s hearings served as another reminder that Black women are held to different and ever-changing standards in our country. The country watched - Black women watched - as Republican senators unleashed their anger, resentment, and bitterness over Justice Kavanaugh’s hearings on Justice Jackson, attempted to malign her unblemished record with outright lies, and ultimately voted against her.

"In spite of this, Justice Jackson was confirmed on the Senate floor on a bipartisan basis, with 53 senators voting to confirm the first Black woman to the Supreme Court – and in the wake of her trailblazing leadership, I hope that what represents a historic first today becomes the norm in the future. With critical issues coming before the Court, and a mandate to move our nation forward, I am eager to see Justice Jackson’s work to, in her own words, make ‘equal justice under the law a reality, not just an ideal.’"

"This victory marks a momentous occasion in the history of the worker justice movement and in the lives of the Amazon workers at JFK8, who have today won recognition as a union in their ongoing effort to secure better workplace protections, higher wages, and true job security.

"In the face of the aggressive, expensive, union-busting effort that Amazon has engaged in, I’m inspired by the workers who refused to be intimidated. Who continued to organize, to vote, to demand what they deserve. I’m honored to have spoken with them, stood with them, and today, to celebrate with them.

"Throughout the decades we have seen workers facing terrible injustices, and we have seen the tactics employed by corporations to maintain the status quo. But we have also seen, again and again, that workers, united, will prevail.

"The opportunity to unionize, to organize, to build worker power is essential. I hope that the results of today’s election on Staten Island, and the victories that this first-in-the-nation union will fight to secure in the coming months, serve as a message and as a model for working people across the city, state, and country about the power and possibility of organizing for worker justice."

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams today emphasized the need to redefine public safety and combat the root causes of the recent rise in gun violence to make New York City safer. In his comments at an oversight hearing of the Committee on Public Safety focused on the mayor’s recent Blueprint to End Gun Violence, the Public Advocate stressed that the city cannot simply police its way out of longstanding issues and repeated his calls for investment in the communities that face the most violence.

“I know the pain that these shootings can cause in communities that know too well the shock and trauma from this epidemic. We cannot accept this as normal, and we cannot go numb to the violence in our streets,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. “I do appreciate that Mayor Adams’ administration acknowledges gun violence as a public health crisis. I agree that this issue is a public health issue. At the same time, I do not believe this Blueprint, and the parts that have been most focused on, goes far enough to provide immediate relief and long-term transformational changes that are needed.”

The Public Advocate analyzed the mayor’s Blueprint to cite both areas of agreement and elements that could negatively impact New Yorkers. He explained that the expanded Summer Youth Employment Program as well as the mayor’s proposed investments in mental health programming would bring positive change. At the same time, the Blueprint also in part attributes the rise in gun violence to bail reform and Raise the Age legislation, which data refutes. He emphasized that, “We can’t use excuses of the past that result in overpolicing of communities of more color and mass incarceration is unproductive and dishonest. We can and should do better to stop the violence in our communities.”

Alternatively, the Public Advocate recommended his own framework to combat gun violence and reimagine policing in New York City. Among many proposals, his plan suggests increased investment in the Mayor’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention and providing expanded social, educational, vocational, and health care services to the communities hardest hit by gun violence. “The neighborhoods that see the highest rate of shootings are the same neighborhoods with the highest rates of unemployment. They are the same neighborhoods that saw the highest COVID-19 cases during the height of the pandemic. They are the same neighborhoods facing a housing crisis and without access to education facilities that are properly funded and resourced.”

In pushing for a greater budgetary focus on services, many of which are cut in the preliminary budget, than on enforcement agencies who are set to have their budgets increase, the Public Advocate said, “I understand that there has to be accountability for violence in our communities. None of these things are about excuses. The problem is that we spend more on getting accountability than actually addressing these structural issues in the first place … I hope that this administration does not rely on the strategies that saw Black and Brown New Yorkers overpoliced and jailed … We need to make sure people, especially young people, can get a chance to succeed rather than face the trauma and stress seen across previous administrations.”

In closing, the Public Advocate reminded the administration, “Communities have the solutions and the answers, and the administration should make sure to listen to these ideas.”

The Public Advocate’s full comments as delivered are below.

TESTIMONY OF PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

TO THE NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY - OVERSIGHT - MAYOR’S BLUEPRINT TO END GUN VIOLENCE

MARCH 30, 2022

Good morning,

My name is Jumaane D. Williams, and I am the Public Advocate for the City of New York. I would like to thank Chair Kamillah Hanks for holding today’s hearing and for allowing me some opportunities to speak on the Mayor’s Blueprint to End Gun Violence. I’m thankful to see Commissioner Sewell as well.

The devastating rise in gun violence is alarming and a tragedy, with 28 people shot over a weekend this month alone. I know the pain that these shootings can cause in communities that know too well the shock and trauma from this epidemic. We cannot accept this as normal, and we cannot go numb to the violence in our streets. I do appreciate that Mayor Adams’ administration acknowledges gun violence as a public health crisis. I appreciate the work that both of us have done together over the years on this issue. I agree that this issue is a public health issue. At the same time, I do not believe this Blueprint and the parts that have been most focused on goes far enough to provide immediate relief and long-term transformational change that are needed

There are very great spaces of agreement in the Blueprint. An expanded Summer Youth Employment Program is the right step to offer long-overdue resources to young people. In addition, the administration’s desire to invest in mental health programs that offer direct need to people is a welcome announcement. The fact that we will be trying to structuralize the Crisis Management System into other agencies. The fact there was an agreement to get other agencies to look at COMPStat numbers instead of just the NYPD. I’m not sure those have moved along yet. Those are some areas of agreement that need to be built out much more. The issue is that this Blueprint does not go far enough on some of the other areas, and the emphasis on change doesn’t seem to be in the areas that need the most transformation.

In some areas, it takes a step back by using false narratives that drive gun violence. Focus on bail reform that we know is not the reason for the rise in gun violence in New York State nor across the nation. Raise the Age is not the reason for the rise in gun violence. I would love to see not just the age change of people who are shooting, but people not to shoot to begin with. We need an honest conversation to make meaningful changes, to stop violence, and to save lives. We can’t use excuses of the past that result in overpolicing of communities of more color and mass incarceration is unproductive and dishonest. We can and should do better to stop the violence in our communities.

The Mayor’s Blueprint should not result in something that appears like broken windows. 

That type of policing has not, does not, and will not work to curb violence in our City. What we’ve learned in the past years that officers are not needed to fix a broken window. A broken window doesn’t always take the police to fix it. The Mayor’s Subway Safety Plan is an example of sending police to eject or arrest people in the transit system. Addressing the problems seen across communities in the City, or in our transit system, should not solely depend on police and should not have police going there first.

I recommend my Office’s newly-updated Redefining Public Safety platform released in January. The platform’s recommendations alone do not solve the epidemic of violence. The platform is designed to create a base to redefine, protect, and promote public safety in our City. The City should invest more in the Mayor’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention to target young people directly impacted by gun violence. Crisis Management System programming should be embedded with City agencies, as the Mayor said back in January this year. Law enforcement’s role in public safety is also important. It should involve community stakeholders in COMPStat meetings and policing strategies for transparency purposes and so other folks can provide the services they know they can in the same areas of the zip codes being focused on.

We have said for so many years that we know the concentration of gun violence and where it is occurring. The neighborhoods that see the highest rate of shootings are the same neighborhoods with the highest rates of unemployment. They are the same neighborhoods that saw the highest COVID-19 cases during the height of the pandemic. They are the same neighborhoods facing a housing crisis and without access to education facilities that are properly funded and resourced. It’s all going to be in the same community. 

I understand that there has to be accountability for violence in our communities. None of these things are about excuses. The problem is that we spend more on getting accountability than actually addressing these structural issues in the first place. If we want to get this right, we need to address those issues. We have an opportunity to get it right, now, and this administration needs to reimagine public safety for our City. So we’re not apologizing for decisions we’re making in a few decades like we did 40 years ago when we tried to address the same issues.

I hope that this administration does not rely on the strategies that saw Black and Brown New Yorkers overpoliced and jailed. We have a preliminary budget that gives too much for the Department of Correction and the NYPD while defunding agencies like the Department of Education. We need to make sure people, especially young people, can get a chance to succeed rather than face the trauma and stress seen across previous administrations that deployed abusive strategies like the abuses of stop, question, and frisk.

I look forward to the administration’s testimony in explaining its vision and goals to stop this epidemic of gun violence. Communities have the solutions and the answers, and the administration should make sure to listen to these ideas. I’m proud to be a leading voice on these issues for over a decade. Even though many people fought tooth and nail, we were able to show that you can lower arrests, lower incarceration, lower shootings, lower use of force by police, lower people actually accusing police of use of force. In 2018 and 2019, when people were saying the same things, we actually showed the City was the safest it has ever been. If you are a victim of crime, that would mean absolutely nothing to you. But many of us would say crime would go up as we saw the pandemic impact. We should focus on what is working, what works, and understand the police are our law enforcement partners. We have to stop asking them to do the work of others. It’s unfair to them because they don’t have the tools. It’s unfair to the community.

I hope we can come together and get this right because we have to. Thank you so much. Peace and blessings.

"Maternal healthcare inequities, particularly for Black and Brown women, have been a key focus for my office, and a personal issue for so many New Yorkers – until recently, I never realized how significant it would be to me and my family. Maternal mental health, maternal mortality, birth equity – these are issues that have been too long ignored, raised by voices too long silenced.

"Birth equity is a social justice issue, and today’s announcement will help bring care to communities often underserved, and lower the economic barriers that have prevented some pregnant people from seeking critical care. This initiative will also strengthen the ties between hospitals and community based organizations, meeting people where they are.

"I thank the administration for making this issue a priority – together with my maternal health legislative package and other, previously announced initiatives, these programs will help to change the unjust systems that have long denied women of more color in our city the care they need and deserve."

"The 2019 criminal justice reforms represented a long-overdue move toward justice, away from a predatory cash bail system. The real and concerning rise in some crimes is not a reason to return to the harmful, unjust, failed policies of the past, which have already failed both here and in cities across the country. As the comptroller’s report today makes clear, calls to do so are divorced from the data, and ignore the both harm that these laws were created to prevent and the history our country has of instituting, then apologizing for, unjust systems of criminalization.

"The Governor is wrong to try to pull back from progress, a move which would criminalize low income New Yorkers and communities of more color and send more people into the crisis conditions she has refused to see at at Rikers Island, where dangerous conditions for everyone have led to pre-trial detention becoming a death sentence. I urge the Legislature to reject this attempt to give in to loud, fearmongering voices, and instead advance a model of true public safety that includes immediate and long-term investments in the same communities that already have the burden of both an increase in crime and inequitable incarceration that has yet to solve the problem."