Brooklyn Defenders’ Statement on New York City Council’s Response to FY2026 Preliminary Budget

Brooklyn Defenders’ Statement on New York City Council’s Response to FY2026 Preliminary Budget

(BROOKLYN, NY) – Brooklyn Defenders issued the following statement in response to the New York City Council’s Response to FY2026 Preliminary Budget and Fiscal Year 2025 Preliminary Mayor’s Management Report:

“Brooklyn Defenders thanks the New York City Council and Speaker Adrienne Adams for recognizing the urgent need for investment in public defense and immigration legal services in their response to the Mayor’s preliminary budget.

New Yorkers facing incarceration, deportation, family separation, and other serious harms in the legal system deserve zealous representation regardless of their ability to afford an attorney. New York’s public defense and immigrant legal services organizations are indispensable to meeting this need. Without adequate funding, critical legal resources are undermined and the rights of New Yorkers are put at risk.

As the FY2026 budget process continues, we urge the Mayor and the Council to show it values the rights of low-income New Yorkers by fully funding public defense.”

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Find a PDF of this press release here.

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