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What Does It Mean to Be a Progressive in New York City? [1]

['Jeffery C. Mays', 'Emma G. Fitzsimmons']

Date: 2023-02-17  

In the summer of 2020, New York’s progressive movement looked more robust than ever before. The murder of George Floyd by the police led activists to occupy City Hall Park for a month and prompted the City Council to pass a budget that called for $1 billion in cuts to the New York Police Department.

It quickly became voguish for Democratic politicians, especially in New York City, to proclaim their progressive bona fides — and suddenly everybody was aligning themselves with the left.

So leaders of the City Council’s Progressive Caucus decided they needed to establish a litmus test: a “statement of principles” that called for a commitment to a lengthy agenda including universal early childhood education, affordable housing and, most controversially, a reduction in the Police Department at a time when major crime rose by 22 percent last year.

The 35-member caucus was divided by the demand: 15 members quit the group last week rather than signing, with several saying that such a rigid approach, especially on policing, left progressives out of step with real-life concerns.

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[1] Url: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/17/nyregion/progressive-nyc.html

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