Cabán explains vote - progressive wins on mental health, hate prevention, FEPS

Permission to explain my vote.

Permission granted.

Thank you, colleagues, Speaker, Finance Chair, and to the Council Finance staff for your tireless work on this budget.

When first elected to the City Council, I made a promise to my constituents and to myself to always fight for the most vulnerable New Yorkers, no matter what.

I believe then, as I do now, that we can build a city where parents can raise families, where people can grow old, where we can remain in our communities free from the fear of displacement, and where our government works for all of us.

But for too long, municipal budgets have prioritized the interests of the wealthy and well-connected.

There are elements of this budget that, like those previous budgets, fall short of what working-class New Yorkers need.

For example, it fails to fund rentals within reach, which would have provided the housing of 20,000 of the most vulnerable New Yorkers through investments in NYCHA and supportive housing.

And I will say, despite these shortcomings, this budget makes crucial changes that will improve the lives of people across the city.

When corporations commit wage theft or impose extortionate fees on New Yorkers, DCWP rarely has the resources to hold them accountable.

And this budget increases their funding to ensure that they can enforce worker and consumer rights laws.

When New Yorkers fear being attacked or discriminated against because of their identity, they too often are directed to a reactive police response that does little to prevent or help heal.

Today, we're investing $26 million in NYC Against Hate, which will promote...

proven community-based hate violence prevention.

Too many New Yorkers struggling with mental illness have been left to fend for themselves, or worse, criminalized for it.

We worked with advocates to baseline over $80 million for mental health programs to deliver care.

Every day, working class New Yorkers face eviction.

I'm proud of the Progressive Caucus, the Speaker, the Mayor, to reach a deal to expand FEPS, but it does fall short.

We can do more.

And I'm proud to have worked closely with the mayor and public safety advocates to ensure there was no increase to the NYPD's headcount.

I've said it many times before, and I'll say it again.

We cannot police, punish, and incarcerate our way to safety.

And every dollar we spend there is money we can't spend on housing, mental health care, substance abuse, and so on.

Just as I promised when I first entered the council, we'll continue to fight for the New York we all deserve.

But I will say for these reasons, I vote aye on the budget, no on Intro 553A and Intro 929A, and aye on all the rest.

Thank you.

Thank you.