REMARKS
Alexa Avilés explains her vote on the NYC budget
0:38:51
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155 sec
Council Member Alexa Avilés explains her decision to vote no on the NYC budget, citing concerns about the mayor's approach and insufficient funding for critical services. She acknowledges the council's efforts to restore funding but expresses dissatisfaction with overall budget priorities.
- Avilés praises the council's work in securing callbacks for education, immigration services, cultural organizations, and libraries.
- She commends the dedication of resources to affordable housing programs and supportive housing.
- Avilés criticizes the underfunding of systems of care and the overallocation to policing, arguing for more investment in early childhood education, CUNY, and parks maintenance.
Alexa Avilés
0:38:51
So this is a hard decision for me as I'm sure it is for so many of my colleagues.
0:38:56
I wanna acknowledge the tireless work of the speaker, her team, counsel finance, and counsel members who engage, negotiated, and communicated with us throughout the process.
0:39:06
I know that we fought our damnness to dig out of the tremendous hole that the mayor created with his funny map, his utter mismanagement, lies, and scapegoating tactics.
0:39:16
Despite the mayor's bad faith posturing, we secured substantial callbacks and funding for K-twelve education immigration services cultural organizations and libraries.
0:39:26
I remind you, none of these cuts should have happened in the first place.
0:39:32
I commend this counsel for the resources and dedicated and for the dedicated resources to affordable housing programs.
0:39:40
Specifically supportive housing and baselining such a significant amount of the city facts money.
0:39:46
These are no small feet under an administration with a track record of contempt for government and the services that everyday New Yorkers depend on.
0:39:55
This mayor continues to choose big real estate, corporate interests, castoral systems that harm us.
0:40:01
I cannot, in good conscience, endorse his arrest and harmful philosophy of governance with a yes vote.
0:40:07
We need to stop under funding and defunding systems of care that are the foundation of safety in our neighborhoods and we need to stop giving a blank check to policing in our budget when a fraction of NYPD's bloated budget could have restored critical services and programs.
0:40:22
New Yorkers rely on for health and safety.
0:40:25
Our working families deserve truly universal early childhood education and day care.
0:40:30
A program this administration has failed to do little to fix in the past 2 years, a fully funded CUNY system and government services that are well funded and effective.
0:40:39
Our parks department still doesn't have enough equipment and staffing to adequately maintain our green spaces.
0:40:45
When you look under the hood of the budget, you will find a collection of many ways this mayor has failed us and continues to waste resources.
0:40:56
With that.
0:40:57
With that, I've with that, I vote I on all except for M42 and M43 and accompanying resolutions, and I need to do my disclosure.
Amanda Farías
0:41:08
You can do
Lynn Schulman
0:41:08
it now.
Alexa Avilés
0:41:09
Okay.
0:41:09
I'm disclosing on the record of the council proceedings that the New York City to of education is funded in the budget we are adopting, and my child is associated with that entity.
0:41:19
And that the New York City Park department is funded in the budget that we are adopting, and my sibling is associated with that entity.
0:41:26
Thank you, madam.