Gov. Kathy Hochul stood shoulder to shoulder with New York City prosecutors Wednesday to celebrate reining in the state’s controversial 2019 cash bail reforms and boosting funding for gun-violence prevention, signing the measures into law 12 hours after lawmakers approved them as part of the state budget.
Hochul, a Democrat, was joined by New York City Mayor Eric Adams and district attorneys from four of the five boroughs — as well as Tony Jordan, a Republican who heads the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York — at the bill-signing ceremony in Inwood.
It marks the second consecutive year Hochul held out in budget negotiations with legislative leaders for changes to the 2019 reforms, which prevented judges from holding defendants on bail in most nonviolent felony and misdemeanor cases.
Under the latest changes, judges will have more discretion to set bail in violent cases by no longer being required to impose the “least restrictive” means at arraignment.
The governor painted the measure as a way to give judges clarity and make New Yorkers feel safer. Last year, she won a tight election in November where public safety took center stage.
Meanwhile the mayor, also a Democrat, has repeatedly pushed for changes to the bail reforms, claiming they have helped lead to a small number of people committing a disproportionately large portion of crimes.
“This budget is a budget that clearly will make our city and our communities safer,” Adams said at the bill-signing event. “Thank you. Kudos to you, governor.”
But many of their fellow Democrats in the state Legislature see it differently, with some opposing the changes for making it easier to hold defendants on bail before they’re convicted of a crime. Others painted them as minor tweaks meant to clarify what the law already said.
“It is my firm belief that every single New Yorker deserves to feel safe and to be safe in their communities — whether it’s the local bodega owner worried about…
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