Protesters gather at New York City Hall to demand police cuts

NEW YORK - Hundreds of people have set up camp outside of New York City Hall to put pressure on Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council to take a billion dollars away from the NYPD’s budget and reallocate the money to community-based causes.

Protesters say they plan to stay for at least the next seven days, when the city’s budget is due.

“We’ve seen history and data that shows social services is what minimizes crime and violence,” said Tatiana Hill of Vocal New York. 

Maria Haberfield, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and studies law enforcement, says that that proposal does not have enough input from experts and fewer police officers is not the answer.

“At this point, the crime rate in New York in the last few months and especially in the last few weeks, we cannot afford to have one police officer less,” said Haberfield. 

The encampment is stocked with donated food, water, blankets, sleeping bags, hand sanitizer, and phone charging stations.

Mayor De Blasio says that while the city recognizes the public’s right to protest, it must be done with rules that make sense.

The last time a New York City Mayor allowed protesters to set up camp was in 2011 at Zuccotti Park near Wall Street. Occupy Wall Street lasted for two months before Mayor Michael Bloomberg had the NYPD shut it down.