REMARKS
Tiffany Cabán explains her vote against the budget
0:50:48
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137 sec
Council Member Tiffany Cabán explains her decision to vote against the budget, citing insufficient funding in key areas despite some positive restorations. She criticizes the mayor's budget tactics and expresses a commitment to fighting for a budget that better serves her constituents' needs and aspirations.
- Cabán acknowledges positive aspects like new investments in affordable housing, library funding restorations, and expansion of the Promise NYC childcare program.
- She criticizes remaining cuts to early childhood education, CUNY, and shortfalls in agencies like DYCD and DOHMH, while noting an "ever bloated" $12 billion police budget.
- Cabán votes no on M42 and M43 (the expense and capital budgets) and accompanying resolutions, while voting aye on other items.
Tiffany Cabán
0:50:48
first, I want to congratulate my colleagues and all the advocates on the many wins in this budget.
0:50:53
I'm glad to see new investments in affordable housing, restoration of the senseless cuts to our libraries.
0:50:58
And an expansion of Promise NYC, a lifesaving childcare program for undocumented New Yorkers that my office conceived of 2 years ago.
0:51:06
Madam's speaker, thank you for your continued steadfast advocacy in the face of a mayor who shows this body nothing but contempt and his intent on making life harder for poor and working class New Yorkers.
0:51:18
While the restorations this council 1 are significant, Our restorations alone enough to restore the confidence of everyday New Yorkers in our city's future help restore the confidence in us as their leaders A recent poll showed that a majority of voters believe our city is headed in the wrong direction, and who could blame them?
0:51:36
They see us playing catch up, on issues of housing affordability, childcare, climate, and they know the clock is ticking.
0:51:43
It's the same playbook from the mayor every year.
0:51:46
Announce a set of brutal cuts to vital city services and whip all of us into an organizing frenzy to restore them, ensuring we have no energy left to fight for true investments.
0:51:57
Our constituents haven't stopped imagining a brighter future for New York City, so why have we?
0:52:02
I'm voting no today because with significant remaining cuts to early childhood education, CUNY, shortfalls in agencies like aycd, DOH MHRA, And with an ever bloated over $12, 000, 000, 000 police budget, it falls short of what my constituents and indeed what all New Yorkers need to live safely and happily in the city for decades to come, to put down roots here, to build families here, to become its next leaders.
0:52:29
This Novo will certainly not grow my popularity with the powers that be, but my constituents did not put me in this room to be a rubber stamp and another mayor Adams budget.
0:52:39
My commitment to them is to fight for a budget that matches not only their needs, but their imagination and dreams that restores their faith in our city as 1 of shared prosperity and in government as a vehicle for good.
0:52:50
Whether I vote of whether I am 1 vote of many or 1 vote of just a few, I will not let them down.
0:52:56
Thank you.
0:52:57
And with that, I vote no on M42 and M43, the accompanying resolutions and I on the rest.