NYC PUBLIC ADVOCATE ARGUES FOR MORE TARGETED SPENDING ON PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY BEYOND LAW ENFORCEMENT

 

New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams today called for smarter, more targeted investment in public health and safety in the city budget. At a hearing of the City Council Committees on Public Safety and Finance, he pushed for strategies and spending that do not rely entirely on law enforcement. 

“...This is a cycle that happens, and I’m hoping at some point, we can stop the cycle by agreeing where we agree, but backing that up with funding to other agencies and other organizations that can do the jobs that we’re asking our NYPD to do,” argued the Public Advocate. “It causes unnecessary tension, unnecessary conversations, unnecessary pressures that the public sees. So I’m pleading with the Commissioner to rethink some of the strategies they’re trying to do, and make the law, the NYPD the last resort, not the first resort.” 

 

On police overtime, which increased to over $1.1 billion during the last fiscal year, he said that “Excessive overtime does not only drain resources that could be used to invest in what we know makes us safer: housing support, mental health services, employment opportunities, crisis intervention, credible messengers, and education – It also harms officer retention…For an agency that struggles with recruitment and retention, it is in the NYPD’s best interest to ensure that officers are not putting in excessive overtime.” 

 

He also addressed the expenses associated with police misconduct settlements, saying that “In 2024, the city paid over $205 million in police misconduct lawsuit settlements, the most since 2018… In September of last year, the NYPD shot a person accused of holding a knife pursued for fare evasion, as well as bystanders and one of their own officers—leaving one bystander in critical condition with a gunshot to the head. Two of the victims announced their intentions to sue the city for $80 million and $70 million, respectively. It bears repeating that the fare for the subway is $2.90.”  The Public Advocate pushed for sufficient funding for public defender services as essential to the city’s safety as well.