Assemblyman William Colton (D – Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, and Dyker Heights) blasts the NYC's Budget cuts as a political shell game by cutting $1 billion from the NYPD, while failing to address the needs of the people and their families in NYC. There is no transparency in the budget cuts.

"On June 30, 2020, at the NYC budget hearing, the $1 billion was claimed to have been cut from the NYPD. City Hall shifted some $500 million from the NYPD resources to the Department of Education which will now be operating safety officers and crossing guards. "The Mayor and the City Council are also reducing police overtime by a claimed $300 Million and deferring two of four police cadet classes which will result in a loss of 1,163 cadets becoming new officers, at a time when crime in NYC is on the rise," Colton stated. But the reality is while this sends an anti police message it is not even certain whether the cuts of some $300 million to overtime will even take effect."Even if the $1 Billion cut merely consists of fuzzy math and the shifting of resources, I oppose it because it lacks transparency and sends an anti police message” Colton stated. Hence the shell game goes on.

"This whole budget is a political shell game: While the budget thankfully did restore counselors to the schools and also some 35,000 of the Summer Youth jobs which were being threatened with cuts, it also made hundreds of millions of dollars of cuts including to the Department of Education, Parks and Sanitation and to many non profits. It also assumes labor agreement to create another one billion dollars in ”savings” which, if such “savings” are not negotiated, will result in layoffs of working people. These cuts will impact working people, seniors and families. I am very disappointed under the NYC's current leadership, this budget process degenerated into playing political games while trying to appease the crowd," Colton charged.