Council Member Tiffany Cabán, (Photo: Tiffany Cabán)
June 14, 2022 By Christian Murray
The New York City council voted to approve the $101.1 billion city budget late last night, although six members voted against it including Astoria council member Tiffany Cabán.
All Queens council members voted in support of it, with the exception of Cabán. She joined other left-wing council members in opposition to it, which included Charles Barron of Brooklyn, Chi Ossé of Brooklyn, Kristin Richardson Jordan of Harlem, Sandy Nurse of Brooklyn and Alexa Avilés of Brooklyn.
Cabán rejected the budget arguing that it slashed funding to the Department of Education, it failed to cut the NYPD budget and that it didn’t include enough funds for housing.
The council voted to slash $215 million from the public school budget, with the mayor attributing the cut to a reduction in school enrollment. The number of students enrolled is down 50,000 from pre-pandemic numbers.
The Dept of Education will also lose $400 million from its budget due to the decrease in federal pandemic aid. The DOE budget will be $31 billion, down from $31.6 billion.
The budget also includes a $90 million increase in police funding, which will go toward raises promised by labor contracts. The NYPD budget has remained about the same as last year ago at around $6 billion.
Meanwhile, the budget has added funds for housing—including $5 billion in capital funds to the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development—although many progressives say that it is not enough.
I’ve always kept it ? with the people of District 22.
They know what I’m about, and they gave me an overwhelming mandate to shift our budgetary priorities away from cops and cages, toward care and community.
The FY23 budget does not do that.
My speech explaining my No vote?? pic.twitter.com/h0gjJER1Oy
— Council Member Tiffany Cabán (D22) (@CabanD22) June 14, 2022
Cabán spoke on the council floor before casting her vote.
She complimented the council for not increasing staffing at city jails—the mayor had looked to add nearly 600 new Department of Correction officers– and for various new investments such as $10 million for childcare for undocumented families, which she advocated for. She also praised the council body for preventing cuts to homeless services, sanitation and parks.
However, she voted the budget down and said, “I cannot in good conscience vote for it. It contains big cuts to our public schools, disproportionately affecting schools in low income community of color….and keeps our currently bloated levels of funding for policing and incarceration intact.”
“Without moving away from violent, oppressive systems we are undermining the very investments I am so glad we managed to include in this budget. In coming years, I will remain prepared to support a budget that reflects my commitment to care, not cages.”
Cabán is likely to be punished for her no vote, which will impact her Astoria constituents.
Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, according to City and State, has excluded those members who voted against the budget from a special initiative to award upward of $100,000 in discretionary funds for each member to spend on public safety efforts in their districts.
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5 Comments
Ms. Caban is supported by the Democratic Socialists Of America Party She would rathet give Illegals money in tje bidget than badly needed correction offocers.
She does not believebin jails or police. Look at the crime under No Bail lalws Tiffany? Up 40%. You have security we don’ t. Shebis a Hypocrite Socialist Disruptor . AOC and B. Sanders And E. Warreb are also. All these loser Socialists need to be voted out.
Y’all, just in case you missed it:
“Cabán rejected the budget arguing that […], it failed to cut the NYPD budget […]”
Let that sink in. Tiffany Caban still thinks…even with a 40%+ increase in violent crime over 2021 that the NYPD budget should be cut. If you support this woman in any way you are a very large part of the degradation of culture, humanity and this city.
Right you are. She is another Democratic Socialist s Of America Party Member I believe as is AOC and Bernie Sanders are She is another disruptor of Freedom And Law And Order. She is not a American . She should be voted out as withnall Dem.. Socialists.
We need Police And Jails and Hochul out too. It is ok Ms. Caban to gobe money to undocumented immogtants though. She is ok giving taxpayer money to illegals but not corrections . Let that sink on people
I could not agree more. All of our politicians locally have destroyed this city. They all need to be replaced with actual leaders. In the meantime, we’re all leaving and/or should consider doing so if they’re not voted out.
I Agree with you anonymous