Williams blames mayor, governor for social
distancing enforcement targeting minorities
BY TODD MAISEL
More than 50 activists participated
in a Lower Manhattan protest
that Public Advocate Jumaane
Williams led on May 11 against recent
incidents of police brutality and overreach
when enforcing rules on social distancing
and gathering.
The protests came days after the NYPD
released data which found that people of
color are receiving most of the summonses
and even getting arrested during enforcement
of distancing and illegal gatherings in
New York City during the COVID-19 crisis.
The demonstrators marched from Foley
Square to One Police Plaza, followed by a
phalanx of police offi cers who didn’t interfere
with the rally. The demonstrators were
careful to maintain their social distance,
staying six feet apart from each other and
wearing PPE masks to prevent the spread
of COVID-19.
Williams said he was outraged by police
behavior in past weeks in which 68% of
black and brown people were the recipients
of summonses, while some were even
arrested for those gatherings or related
charges.
The rally included many activists who
PHOTO BY JON FARINA
Protesters met at Foley Square, then marched to Police Headquarters to
protest the NYPD’s violent social distancing enforcement in black and brown
communities.
Carranza warns of ‘horrific’ school budget cuts
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
New York City Schools Chancellor
Richard Carranza said on May 12
that the Department of Education’s
projected 2020-21 budget is “horrifi c” due
to the economic standstill caused by the
novel coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s not just New York City, it’s not just
New York state, it’s not just the United
States it’s this is a global economic pandemic
as well,” said Carranza during a City
Council Education Committee hearing held
via Zoom.
The New York City Offi ce of Management
and Budget has projected a $7.4 billion
loss in tax revenue due to the pandemic
across previous expectations for fi scal year
2020-21. The DOE’s fi scal 2020-21 budget
of $34.2 billion includes $27.5 billion in
operating funds and another $6.7 billion
in education related pensions and debt
service funds.
The DOE executive budget includes
$111 million in reductions in savings from
the current fi scal year’s operations, and
blamed Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor
Andrew Cuomo for pushing the NYPD to
enforce “unreasonable social distancing on
minority communities.”
“The leaders, Mayor de Blasio and Governor
Cuomo said 10 weeks ago that New
Yorkers should stay at home,” Williams
Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza speaks at a news conference at the Office
of Emergency Management about the Coronavirus, March 2, 2020.
another $471 million in reductions and
savings for fi scal year 2020-21.
Carranza said that the city expects the
state to announce more education budget
cuts as early as this week.
“This economic reality requires the city
to make hard decisions including painful
education cuts,” said the chancellor. “These
told the crowd as a large group of police
offi cers watched from a distance. “A couple
weeks after that, they told New Yorkers
to go to work that they are ‘expendable.’
You know, 75% of essential workers are
black and brown, but this virus does not
discriminate. Every social and economic
PHOTO: BEN FRACTENBERG/THE CITY
cuts are of a shocking magnitude.”
Some of what has been cut already,
Carranza added includes College Access
for All and Civics for All. Other centrally
administered areas that have received cuts
for fi scal year 2020-21 include professional
development spending, hiring freezes, delaying
the expansion of the pre-k programs.
status is suffering. Laws don’t discriminate,
people’s policies do.”
Williams said he did not blame the
NYPD, but rather the social distancing
policies created.
No other elected offi cials joined Williams
and the activists in the demonstration,
which the NYPD allowed to fi nish.
Over the past week, the NYPD had broken
up several other rallies across the city.
One protest held by Reclaim Pride and
two others at City Hall Park by those opposed
to the economic shutdown saw heavy
police presence where demonstrators were
intimidated or summonsed for a purported
lack of social distancing.
De Blasio bore the brunt of their criticism
this past week as police cracked down
on some, but allowed others. The maintains
that “nobody should be holding rallies during
the COVID-19 crisis,” and can get their
message out in other way including online.
The NYPD became embroiled in
controversy just two weeks earlier when
members of the Satmar Jewish community
in Williamsburg held a funeral for a revered
rabbi that had more than 2,000 people in
attendance. That rabbi died of COVID-19,
the virus ravaging that community in recent
weeks.
Carranza added that the cuts could not
be solely taken out of administrative budgets
and that budget cuts to schools now
include a $100 million reduction to the fair
student funding formula and $40 million
reduction in “other funding streams.”
“We are working internally and with our
city partners to come up with an equitable
methodology that minimizes the impact to
our most vulnerable communities, but as
a former teacher and principal, very few
things break my heart more than having to
go through the exercises of trying to save
resources for our schools,” said Carranza.
The chancellor added that the agency
is having frank discussion with principals
across the city about cutting costs and
potentially instituting a hiring freeze for
the 2020-21 school year.
But the freeze would be lifted if and when
the city receives federal aid, according to
DOE Chief Operating offi cer Lindsey Oates.
“Under these circumstances, and without
additional direct support from the federal
government we simply cannot afford
to maintain school budgets and programs
at fi scal year 2020 levels,” added Carranza.
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