FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 1, 2024

Contact: Trip Eggert, media@vera.org

NEW YORK – In response to the adopted New York City budget for fiscal year 2025, Jullian Harris-Calvin, director of the Vera Institute of Justice’s Greater Justice New York initiative, issued the following statement:

“New Yorkers know what creates safety: strong communities where people can access housing, mental health support, health care, and employment. Thriving individuals and families lead to flourishing communities and a safe, vibrant city.

“We applaud the New York City Council for successfully advocating for increased investments in community-based services like justice-involved supportive housing, alternatives to incarceration, reentry programs, community violence intervention programs, and mental health clubhouses. These services increase stability and, by extension, safety for New York’s communities without inflicting the harmful consequences of incarceration. We also commend the council for advocating for increases to the Civilian Complaint Review Board’s staffing budget, which will enable the board to more effectively pursue accountability within the city’s police force.

“This budget, however, continues to enable the dysfunction and death taking place on Rikers Island, which traumatizes and tears apart New York families—particularly its communities of color. The Department of Correction’s budget, which is over $2.6 billion, remains inflated by overstaffing, and such excessive funding allows the department to evade accountability for years of mismanagement. In addition, plans to spend $225 million on a new, unnecessary training facility for police and corrections while construction on the borough-based jails falls years behind schedule makes clear that this administration is not serious about shuttering Rikers Island.

“We are ready to work with New York City’s leaders to identify the evidence-based solutions New Yorkers want and need to feel safe. This budget is a start, but there is significantly more to do to create a New York that is safe, just, and thriving.”

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The Vera Institute of Justice is powered by hundreds of advocates, researchers, and policy experts working to transform the criminal legal and immigration systems until they’re fair for all. Founded in 1961 to advocate for alternatives to money bail in New York City, Vera is now a national organization that partners with impacted communities and government leaders for change. We develop just, antiracist solutions so that money doesn’t determine freedom; fewer people are in jails, prisons, and immigration detention; and everyone is treated with dignity. Vera’s headquarters is in Brooklyn, New York, with offices in Washington, DC, New Orleans, and Los Angeles. For more information, visit vera.org.