Zeldin, Hochul trade accusations over New York’s crime problems
By: Courier-Mail
published:02 Apr 2018
By: Courier-Mail
published:02 Apr 2018
views:9
The two men are accused of trying to influence the city’s police commissioner to cut his budget, which is set to rise to $800 million under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposed budget.
The New York Police Department is facing a huge budget hike under new Mayor Bill de Blasio, and the city and state are accusing the police chief of trying to influence the department’s budget.
In 2017, Commissioner William J. Bratton, who is known for making tough talk but also for cutting crime and bringing crime down to record lows, was told he would not only get a $100 million pay cut, but also be demoted to assistant chief, according to a New York Daily News report.
Bratton, along with his staff and the mayor’s office, were told in June of that year that the New York Police Department was $539 million over its budget.
“Bratton was the first to make the case that the NYPD, which has not kept up with inflation or the changing needs of its residents, couldn’t continue to do so. That’s why he got the $100 million,” said de Blasio spokesman Eric Phillips.
“The mayor wasn’t pleased with Bratton’s budget plan, but Bratton did not break his promise not to demote him. Nor did they have a fight on their hands,” Phillips said. “The commissioner demoted the next week.
“He gave an apology to the mayor and the city,” he said. “And he brought the city more than $100 million.”
De Blasio and the city’s top officials have pointed to several ways the police department could be run more efficiently, including fewer beat cops, fewer overtime payouts and cutting a lot of what Bratton sees as wasteful spending.
Under the proposed budget, for example, the city will pay $7.5 million to officers for overtime they have not been given for years.
“The overtime issue is one of the things under discussion,” said NYPD