New York City council overwhelmingly passes reparations bill; taxpayers say they are getting OUT

New York City may be leaning toward a corrupt crime-ridden, illegal alien-infested hellhole with serious financial problems but city council members have their priorities in order.

On Thursday, left-wing lawmakers passed a pair of bills to implement measures to address the impact of slavery, a practice that was abolished in the United States over a century and a half ago, and even though nobody is alive today who ever owned a slave or suffered human bondage, it remains an obsession for black activists and race grifting Democrats.

The controversial legislation will officially establish a reparations task force that could lead to the use of billions of dollars in taxpayer money to dole out freebies to blacks for perceived injustices that they themselves have never – and never will – be forced to suffer. It makes the Big Apple the largest U.S. city to establish such a task force which could serve as a model for a national reparations program under a Kamala Harris administration.

(Video Credit: CBS New York)

“Today, the New York City Council voted to pass legislation establishing municipal efforts to acknowledge and address the legacy and impact of slavery and racial injustices in New York City,” the city council said in a press release. “The package of legislation would establish a Truth, Healing, and Reconciliation process on slavery within New York City (which had one of the highest rates of slave ownership in the country in the 1700s), a reparations study, informational signs at the City’s first slave market, and a task force to consider the creation of a ‘freedom trail’ commemorating abolitionist movement and Underground Railroad sites.”

According to the press release, the task force will “establish facts about slavery in New York City and its ongoing legacies, protect and acknowledge affected persons and communities, and recommend changes for government and institutions to prevent the perpetuation and recurrence of injustices from the legacy of slavery.”

The full council overwhelmingly approved the legislation by a 41-8 vote with Brooklyn Democrat Farah Louis who sponsored it hailing the vote as a “crucial step towards justice and equity.”

“By documenting and quantifying the impacts of enslavement and its legacies, while recommending concrete measures for redress, we take a crucial step towards justice and equity. I am passionately committed to this cause and the urgency of this study in addressing the historical and ongoing impacts of manumission that continue to affect our New Yorkers and am looking forward to driving this work forward as this Council continues to create a more equitable future for all,” she said.

“When I first ran for office in 2021, I released A Black Agenda for New York City, outlining six bold recommendations that would meet the urgency of the racial reckoning facing our city. One of those recommendations was the creation of a citywide Truth, Healing, and Reconciliation process centered on acknowledging the city’s racist practices and historic treatment of Black New Yorkers,” City Council member Crystal Hudson said.

Hudson expressed hope that the legislation “will move New York City forward in a way that places the pursuit of truth and justice at our city’s core. And it is my hope that as the nation’s largest city––with the biggest municipal budget––our truth, healing, and reconciliation process will work; it will identify racist, anti-Black policies at the foundation of our city’s institutions, and it will yield material solutions to address these foundational cracks.”

Not everyone was as enthusiastic about the legislation with Staten Island Republican David Carr who was one of the lawmakers that voted against it calling the bill “insulting.”

“No one currently living in our city had anything to do with the evils of slavery and the vast majority of New Yorkers are descendants of immigrants who came after it was abolished,” Carr told the New York Post.

Queens Democrat Robert Holden described the bill as a “Pandora’s box” that will spur an “endless parade of historical grievances.”

“Taxpayers have had enough of being nickeled and dimed at every turn,” he told the Post.

The legislation comes at a time when Gotham is facing severe budgetary concerns related to the feeding, care, and housing of tens of thousands of illegal aliens who have relocated to the city, forcing cutbacks in essential services to residents.

There is little doubt that the task force will consider the issue of monetary payments, the real root of the reparations schemes that Harris has pledged to implement on a national level if elected.

“New York City has a moral obligation to confront its historical role in the institution of slavery, including harms and long-lasting consequences,” a City Hall spokesperson told the New York Post. “This is another crucial step towards addressing systemic inequities, fostering reconciliation, and creating a more just and equitable future for all New Yorkers.”

Chris Donaldson

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles