Quinn, Recchia, and Vallone Comment of Mayor's Preliminary Budget Proposal: 540 NYPD Cadets Put on Hold

Here is a response form NYC Council members Quinn, Recchia and Vallone on the Mayor's proposed "indefinitely delay", related to the NYPD's cadet program scheduled to start this month. 540 cadets will be told to hold off on their plans to join the NYPD if the Mayor has his way. The obvious concern is the effect on public safety.

Gregory
************

April 14, 2011

Dear New Yorker,
We would like to share some important news with you regarding the NYC Council's response to the Mayor's Preliminary Budget Proposal.
As you may already be aware, the NYPD announced earlier this week that it has delayed indefinitely a class of 540 police cadets that was scheduled to start this month. It's our understanding that this action was taken in an effort to meet budget-cutting requirements being imposed for the next fiscal year. This decision is deeply troubling for several reasons.
Further delaying or possibly even eliminating a class this size could jeopardize our continued efforts to keep New York City the safest big city in the country. As you know, protecting the strength and effectiveness of our police force has been a top priority for the NYC Council. Throughout nine rounds of budget cuts we have consistently fought to preserve funding for cadet classes. The class in question was initially scheduled to begin in January and had already been postponed for three months.
On a related note, the Preliminary Budget, as proposed, would have a grave impact on the FDNY, with the proposed permanent closings of 20 fire companies throughout the City. The NYC Council does not agree with nor will we comply with writing the Administration a "blank check" to close these companies.
Continued delay or elimination of these vital services will only serve to undermine our previous efforts, and could have untold consequences for the safety and well-being of New Yorkers. We have and will continue to find places to cut spending, but we must do so without sacrificing the critical services that keep our city safe, strong, and growing.
We have urged the Mayor to reconsider this rash and misguided decision, in keeping with the general commitment to ensuring the safety of all New Yorkers.
The full budget response can be found here:
http://council.nyc.gov/html/budget/PDFs/2012/budget_response_fy_2012.pdf.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Andrew Grossman in the Council's Finance Division at 212-788-9173 or agrossman@council.nyc.gov.
Thank you very much for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,

Christine C. Quinn
Speaker
NYC Council

Domenic M. Recchia, Jr.
Chair, Finance Committee
NYC Council

Peter F. Vallone, Jr.
Chair, Public Safety
NYC Council