friends, comrades, curfew-breakers, phone-bankers, mask-wearing hotties committed to dismantling white supremacy, et al:
full-body horror, gut-filling hope: in the last week, i’ve felt both in my body, sometimes in immediate contradiction with one another, sometimes all at once. in the eleven days since the murder of George Floyd, we’ve witnessed the white supremacist police state mobilize for war against those who will not tolerate anti-blackness. here in New York, the NYPD — a police force that is larger than the armies of 102 nations — has spent its week getting paid overtime to:
✔️ brutalize those who oppose brutality
✔️ willfully exacerbate a pandemic
✔️ justify its murderous existence by reminding us that a Chase bank in SoHo has feelings too
and with impunity! they’re doing it with impunity — not just because of our punk-ass laws (#Repeal50A!!!), but because of our punk-ass Mayor and punk-ass Governor, who give us nothing but drunk-brunch word salad, and a complete abdication of responsibility to any New Yorker who isn’t allowed to kill people on the clock.
and now, some hope: organizers who’ve been leading the charge to defund the NYPD, including the Brooklyn Movement Center, Jews For Racial & Economic Justice, and many other community-based organizations (check them out here! good places to donate to!) — they’re saying we’ve never been closer to defunding the NYPD than we are in this very moment. like, right now. but even still, as of writing, just 5 of 51 councilmembers have firmly committed to voting no on a budget that does not cut down NYPD spending. so let’s make this happen, y’all!
every year, the New York City budget must be passed by June 30. that means we have 25 days to make the #NYCBudgetJustice campaign a reality, and cut $1 billion from the NYPD budget.*
so let’s do it to it:
[STEP ONE] Find yr New York City Councilmember. Now check out this (incredible!!) spreadsheet. Has yr councilmember committed voting no on any city budget that slashes education spending, but doesn’t meaningfully reduce police spending?
If yr councilmember has committed to voting no on a budget that doesn’t cut NYPD spending for Fiscal Year 2021: Thank them. Police unions are a serious political force (didya notice Cuomo’s backpedaling earlier this week?) — and councilmembers have lost both money for their districts and political clout for standing up to NYPD. If yr councilmember is one of the five that supports cutting NYPD’s budget, thank them on Twitter, or in an email/call (the spreadsheet linked above has all that info — amazing!). The more they know their constituents are watching, the harder it will be for them to buckle under police union pressure. Seriously, it makes a difference.
If yr councilmember has *not* committed to cutting NYPD’s budget: You know what to do — time to scream! You need to call, text, and tweet at yr city councilmember. Here are some sample scripts from Communities United for Police Reform (and thanks to friend-of-the-newsletter Tara for helping put scripts together, too!):
Sample email/phone message: "Hi, my name is [NAME] and I am a resident of [BOROUGH/NEIGHBORHOOD]. I am calling on you to defund the NYPD in the Fiscal Year 2021 budget by at least $1 billion. When millions of New Yorkers are out of work, can’t afford food, rent, or healthcare, the last thing we need is billions of dollars for a police force that kills Black and brown New Yorkers and is currently brutalizing our city. I support the #NYCBudgetJustice campaign, and urge you to vote no on any budget that does not cut the NYPD. ”
Sample tweet: “.@Dromm25, our City cannot continue its overinvestment in policing and underinvestment in public health, housing, young people, and other social services. #CutNYPDBudget We NEED #NYCBudgetJustice "
[STEP TWO] Scream at NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson, who, as of writing, has not yet committed to significantly cutting NYPD’s budget for FY2021. Plus, CoJo is running for mayor — so pushing him now means shaping how mayoral candidates will have to address the criminalization of Black and brown New Yorkers in next year’s election. Same deal: call, text, tweet. Then, can you ask 3 friends to do the same?
[STEP THREE] Scream at the NYC Council’s budget negotiating team, which plays a major role in shaping the final budget that’s passed at the end of June. Here’s the list of Councilmembers on the budget negotiating team. If you live in their district, mention you are a constituent!
Manhattan Councilmembers on Budget Negotiating Team
Bronx Councilmembers on Budget Negotiating Team
Brooklyn Councilmembers on Budget Negotiating Team
Queens Councilmembers on Budget Negotiating Team (damn… get yr Queens friends to call please)
Staten Island Councilmembers on Budget Negotiating Team
got the job done? yay! screenshot it, and send it over, will ya?
much love/fuck the bullshit,
👓
*wondering how community organizers landed on a $1-billion cut? or how the #NYCBudgetJustice campaign squares away with a broader abolitionist vision? i cannot recommend enough watching this amazing teach-in the Brooklyn Movement Center held on Thursday, June 4! and donate if you can!