Helen Saulnier 
Mayors, government officials and leaders across the state of New York gathered in Albany on Wednesday for what is colloquially known as “Tin Cup Day,” making their cases for budget increases and specific allocations as the legislature prepares to negotiate the Governor’s proposed budget.
This year, a number of officials and community advocates made arguments based on public safety and criminal justice concerns and initiatives that included addressing discovery burdens within New York’s court system, expanding neighborhood surveillance and investing in legal representation for immigrants in the state.
New York City
New York Mayor Eric Adams listed public safety as the “second pillar” of his four-pillar agenda. Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul have previously been closely aligned on a number of issues.
The pair worked together to add additional NYPD officers and MTA officers to New York City’s transit system in response to increased crimes on the subway. Their “Cops, Cameras and Care Initiative,” introduced in October, reportedly led to a 16 percent drop in crime in the transit system by January, according to the Governor’s office.
Adams has long sought to change the 2019 bail reform laws, which he said contributed to the uptick in crime during the pandemic. Governor Hochul defended the bail reform law in August after the last budget introduced a number of amendments, but in 2023 has squarely repeated her belief that the 2019 bail reform changes went too far. Hochul has said she will attempt to correct some of those perceived overreaches through this year’s budget negotiations with state legislators.
Beyond a partial rollback of the 2019 reforms, critics say Hochul’s budget-tied bail discretion proposal would fundamentally alter how bail assignment works in New York state.
“It’s not just a departure from the bail reform statute,” Krystal Rodriguez, policy director of the Data Collaborative for Justice at John Jay College, told New York Focus earlier this month. “It’s a departure from what has been New York state law for decades.”
In his testimony, Adams praised the Governor’s continued proposals to roll back parts of the 2019 state bail reform laws to expand judicial discretion in setting bail by getting rid of the “least restrictive” standard judges must currently consider.
“The Governor’s budget rightfully proposes to keep us safer by giving us additional tools to address our recidivism crises,” Adams said. “Changes to the least restrictive standard, as the Governor has proposed, will go a long way towards solving our recidivism problem.”
Adams claimed in his remarks that approximately 2,000 “extreme recidivists” are driving increased crime in New York City. A Brennan Center report last year found no clear connection between the bail reform laws and increased crime, but the causes behind New York City’s crime rate fluctuations are a matter of constant debate.
“We must also recognize that our city’s district attorneys and public defenders are overwhelmed and need our help immediately,” Adams said. “The state must make a major investment in them now or risk depriving defendants of their constitutional right to a speedy trial — delaying justice for victims and continuing the unprecedented level of attrition within each of these offices.”
Rochester
Rochester Mayor Malik Evans described gun violence as Rochester’s “greatest challenge,” like many cities across the country.
“[Rochester] continues its aggressive strategies of prevention, intervention and suppression, which reduced homicides in 2022 to 76 – lower than in previous year 2021, but still far too high,” Evans told the Assembly.
“A spirit of collaboration with our law enforcement partners at the local, state and federal level has been key in targeting the most violent offenders and taking illegal guns off our streets,” Evans testified. “As has State funding through the Gun Intervention Violence Elimination (GIVE) Initiative and our SNUG Street Outreach Program.”
Syracuse
Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh asked directly for investment in a number of crime reduction programs, particularly violence interruption.
“The COVID-19 pandemic created economic disruption and mental health crises that contribute to rising crime rates,” Walsh’s testimony reads. He recounted some of Syracuse’s crime trends in 2022. “Homicides, which have the most devastating and lasting consequences on families and society, by the grace of God, fell by 38 percent.”
“Yet any hope for an extended reprieve from lives lost to violence has quickly faded following three homicides already this year,” Walsh said. “This included the heart-wrenching murder of Brexialee Torres-Ortiz, an 11-year-old girl who was killed in a drive-by shooting on a Sunday evening as she walked home from a neighborhood store.”
In 2022, Walsh launched the Syracuse Mayor’s Office to Reduce Gun Violence and in 2023 plans to implement a new Community Violence Intervention plan, he testified to New York legislators. Syracuse needs neighborhood street cameras, called COPS cameras, Walsh testified, to improve emergency responses in the city and improve investigations.
The city is asking the State for funding to expand that network of cameras in Syracuse, along with other immediate and long-term violence intervention efforts.
New York Counties
Stephen Acquario, Executive Director of the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) presented a number of positions on behalf of the coalition.
NYSAC voiced support for the Governor’s proposed budget allocating funds to expanding emergency medical services and transportation and allocating $20 million to support pretrial services including probation and community-based diversion programs.
The Association also supported the budgeted $10 million to provide State-funded stipends to volunteer firefighters who go through foundational training programs and plan to the double the state’s investment in the Gun Involved Violence Elimination program, or GIVE, which Governor Hochul proposes increasing to a total of $36.4 million supporting 20 police departments outside of New York City.
NYSAC raised concerns about the quantity of money allocated to the “Next Generation 911” plan, and recommended an annual allocation of $20 million in NG 911, a review and update of an existing 2019 stakeholders plan, and a call for feedback from all state public safety stakeholders on what is needed to build out NG 911 in New York, among other recommendations.
Safety On Public Transport
The New York City Rider’s Alliance also testified Wednesday, and in addition to economic recovery arguments for expanding service on the Metropolitan Transit Authority subway and train lines made an argument for public safety.
“More frequent service means less time waiting on train platforms and at bus stops, where riders feel most vulnerable. More frequent service means less anxiety and frustration in transit, which transit workers report contributes to assaults,” Rider’s Alliance Policy & Communications Director Danny Pearlstein testified.
He made the further point that the transport workers union endorsed the organization’s campaign for more off-peak service hours on the subway because of its safety implications for their members.
Immigration Courts
Immigrant ARC wrapped up testimony in Albany Wednesday with one appeal centered on justice concerns: a representative for the organization urged the Legislature to include the proposed Access to Representation Act (ARA) in the budget. The bill would create a formal right to counsel for immigrant New Yorkers and explicitly fund counsel for deportation proceedings.
Immigrant ARC, represented by Funmi Akkinawonu, asked legislators in attendance to allocate $55 million for implementation of the ARA in FY 2024, and called on them to increase funding for affirmative and defensive immigration legal service to $35 million and allocate $10 million to ‘rapid response’ immigration legal services for newly arrived migrants in New York.
“Today, there is still no guaranteed right to counsel in immigration proceedings in the United States, despite the fact that immigrants in deportation proceedings face serious consequences such as family separation or deportation to a country where they may face persecution, abuse, or death,” Immigrant ARC’s testimony reads. “Having a lawyer makes a staggering difference in an immigration case.”
The final budget is due in April.
