Candidates for central Brooklyn’s 40th Council District seat in weighed in on reducing the New York Police Department’s budget during an April 26 candidates forum, and discussed different approaches to the policy — which all of the candidates said they support.
Calls to defund the police and reallocate parts of its gargantuan $11 billion budget hit a fever pitch last May following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, with protesters pouring into the streets of New York City for weeks. The summer also saw a pandemic-wrought budget wreak havoc on the city’s ability to deliver essential services like sanitation, drawing further scrutiny of the department’s massive pool when compared to other city agencies.
