In new York protesters demanded to reduce the police budget
Hundreds of activists for several days did not leave city Hall Park in front of city hall in new York- the protesters demand that the city authorities have reduced the police budget for the next fiscal year at least $ 1 billion and reallocated to support the African American community, the correspondent of RIA Novosti.
The annual budget of the NYPD is about $ 6 billion. In the 2019 financial year, this amounted to about 6% of total expenditures city of 95 billion dollars. Next fiscal year starts July 1. By this point it should be formed including the budget of the police Department.
Supporters of the rally under the name of Occupy City Hall located at city hall on Tuesday – then here a few dozen. Today there are about a thousand. And they plan to stay here at least until June 30.
"We are gathered here under the walls of city hall to demand that the next financial year the government reduced the six-billion-dollar police budget by at least $ 1 billion and invested the money in the black community, invested in programs that would improve the security situation in these communities, education, acceptable housing", - told RIA Novosti one of the organizers, a Brooklyn resident Charles Hahn.
According to him, the participants consider it necessary to reduce funding to the police because she did not help security in the black community. "If you look at the safest communities in the US, least of all the police, it's because there are better schools, better health care, a low number of homeless, a well - run social services," he said.
Khan added that the participants also need to remove police from schools. "The schools in new York you often have to pass through a metal detector. There is a policeman who should provide security, but often they treat students like prisoners. We want that school was a place for learning, not a place where children prepare for jail," he said.
According to him, the protesters are highly motivated. "If the mayor and the city ignore the requirements, I'd wait for much more protests, a lot more action. This country was built on racism and its foundations. And to end with these foundations, you will need to work hard. And we are ready for it," said Khan.
The rally was held in a peaceful manner. The audience was fenced in the territory in which is situated the chain of the Bicycle. Outside of the ring displayed on the pavement with chalks "Area without police." Latest here and really can't see it, their vans are at a distance, and they seem to have taken no interfering. However, according to protesters, the crowd go plainclothes.
The atmosphere of this meeting considerably different from the initial demonstrations triggered by the murder of George Floyd. Then in the crowd felt the tension, and often you can see the provocateurs, who didn't come for a change, and just in search of profit. Here most people students, representatives of the creative community. In a crowd of many artists who, sitting on the pavement, and night do not cease to draw posters and colored portraits of George Floyd.
People spread out bed sheets, rugs, pieces of cellophane on the ground. Someone sings the sounds of the audio system, someone holds a mini-rally, gathering around him a group of students. Often the nose hit the smell of cannabis that many here smoke.
Engineer Allison spends the night here and go to work. "There's a lot of different groups. There are groups of artists. There are groups of African Americans. There are even groups like book lovers. Someone hold a discussion on Angela Davis. Someone was discussing the tactics of the crowd in a confrontation the police," she said.
Allison is not afraid of the coronavirus. In her opinion, much more likely to get infected at work.