NYC Councilman Ari Kagan under fire for voting ‘no’ on budget that hiked NYPD funding by $320M

Twelve members of the New York City Council voted against the recently adopted city budget — but only one of them appears to be catching hell for it.

Councilman Ari Kagan, who switched party affiliation from Democrat to Republican last year, is now taking heat for his no vote after issuing an explanation suggesting that the budget didn’t include enough money for the NYPD.

But funding for the police department actually went up under the new spending plan by about $320 million, thanks in large part to hefty pay raises. That overall budget hike helped convince every other Republican on the Council and conservative-leaning Dems to vote yes on the budget, which has left some of them fuming over Kagan’s decision.

“When every member in the Progressive Caucus blamed an increase in the NYPD budget that went for massive raises so we can actually hire the people we have already budgeted for, but haven’t filled the spots, you would think he would have realized this is a pro-NYPD budget,” said a Republican Council member.

That member also pointed to Kagan’s explanation of his vote, in which he appears to criticize how the Council “found billions for migrant services” — something that is required, in part, under the city’s right-to-shelter law.

“Just to be clear on the migrant stuff — the city has to pay for that. That’s the reason why the administration’s in court,” the Councilmember said, referring to Mayor Adams’ push to have the right-to-shelter law suspended due to the migrant crisis.

A Democratic Council member called Kagan’s vote “silly” and “stupid.”

“It’s silly. Even the most conservative Council members found this budget acceptable. It spends more money on policing, and members were able to get huge resources for their district,” that Council member said. “It’s not a ‘defund’ budget. It’s almost the opposite of a defund budget.”

Kagan opted to change political affiliation in December in response to the redistricting process, a decision which has led to him facing off against Councilman Justin Brannan, a Democrat who’s also an incumbent. Both of them currently represent separate districts in southern Brooklyn, but will face each other head-to-head in this November’s general election.

Brannan’s campaign cited Kagan’s vote as proof that he’s a defunder of the cops.

“Ari can spin this however he wants, but the fact is his fellow Republicans and Common Sense Caucus Democrats all voted in support of this budget while Ari Kagan voted to defund the police,” said Brannan’s campaign spokesperson. “He also voted against funding our schools, seniors and libraries. Ari Kagan has never stood for anything so you never know who he is going to sell out next.”

Kagan shot back that Brannan himself has made votes that undermine the NYPD, pointing to the 2020 budget, which cut hundreds of millions of dollars to the cops, as well as Brannan’s support of the so-called “diaphragm” law, which prohibits police from using chokeholds on suspects.

Kagan further added that he voted no because the budget doesn’t contain any provision to help municipal retirees whose health care plans may be adversely impacted by a plan being pushed by the mayor.

The additional funding for the NYPD in this year’s budget almost certainly figured into the no-votes that came from the progressive side of the aisle. The Council’s Progressive Caucus shed nearly half its members in February after laying out a policy pledge to “reduce the size and scope of the NYPD.”

Aside from Kagan, every Council member who voted against this year’s budget was a member of that caucus.

In defense of his vote, Kagan issued a statement immediately after Friday’s budget vote explaining his decision.

“The NYPD is currently operating with about 33,000 officers, far fewer than what we had just four years ago and far fewer than we need to protect the residents and guests of New York City,” he said, adding that the spending plan didn’t add a single cop to precincts in his district.

But the department’s budget did go up to the tune of $320 million, which includes about $7 million for new police cars and other equipment. Kagan’s rationale also doesn’t appear to factor in the fact that the NYPD has been struggling to fill already existing jobs that are vacant, according to one GOP Council member.

On Monday, Kagan said he not only stood by his vote, but his explanation as well.