The Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2027
Chair Feliz, Chair Lee, and members of the council – it’s my pleasure to be here today.
I’m Deanna Logan, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. At the heart of MOCJ’s work: making New York City a fairer and safer place for all. I’m joined here by MOCJ’s Chief of Staff Nora Daniel, Chief Operating Officer Candice Julien, and Chief Financial Officer Robert Fiato
Every program we operate, every partnership we build, and every dollar we invest is guided by a clear goal: making communities safer – and stronger – using public dollars wisely.
Our office is focused on addressing not just the criminal legal system – but also the underlying issues driving system involvement.
When we invest in people — thoughtfully, strategically, and guided by data — we generate real return on that investment. Programs that connect people to services, put a roof over their heads, help them rebuild their lives, and stabilize families and neighborhoods…ultimately cost a fraction of what it takes to incarcerate someone on Rikers Island.
The outcomes are far better. Through initiatives like Supervised Release, Alternatives to Incarceration, and the Community Justice Reentry Network, we’re keeping thousands of people out of jail every year.
This is what it looks like when government works for New Yorkers.
You may have heard me say recently that “Public Health is Public Safety.”
A core part of our strategy is recognizing that our public health and public safety systems have symbiotic relationships.
Research is our foundation; we’ve studied people who are at heightened risk of criminal legal system involvement. What did we learn? Many individuals who keep cycling through the legal system are navigating complex combinations of challenges:
- Housing instability;
- Trauma;
- Untreated mental health needs; substance use disorder
- Economic hardship.
Addressing only one piece of that puzzle doesn’t work. This is why we still have gaps in our safety nets. But addressing those gaps does work; and we are now filling them in, with consistent coordinating and collaborating:
- Alongside DOC;
- DOP;
- The city’s health agencies;
- Our five DA’s;
- Our indigent defense providers…
- And a host of great community partners.
That coordination is paying dividends.
MOCJ is committed to strengthening the pipeline connecting people leaving custody to transitional housing, job training, mental health services, and community-based mentorship.
Our expansion of emergency transitional housing is an especially critical component — with more than 100 beds coming online in the upcoming months – to give more New Yorkers a stable place to lay their head during the vulnerable period of rebuilding their life.
We are also strengthening workforce development. Of course, training is key. People need to be equipped in the skills to do the job. However, connecting the skilled person with the employer is as critical.
We’re investing in programs that include placement services; employer partnerships; and sustained career pathways so participants can achieve the financial stability needed to support their families.
Thank you to second-chance employers that understand the lived experience and trauma accompanies and who provide, not only opportunity, but grace and space as formerly incarcerated persons acclimate to the work environment.
When people have meaningful work and stable housing, they are less likely to return to the criminal legal system — benefiting entire communities.
If you’ll indulge me for a very quick story…
I recently had the opportunity to sit in on a healing circle with a number of participants from our Project Restore pilot. That’s our collaboration with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office and the Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn.
We often ask ourselves- what does public safety look like? What does it sound like?
It looks and sounds like ten young men from Bed-Stuy, all with history of gun or gang involvement, working out their trauma to build better lives for themselves.
These men, when I first met them some 2+ years ago, were in rival street crews – sitting next to their former rivals, now friends collaborating on community safety and mental health initiatives.
They talked about the families they’re now supporting; the degrees and careers they’re now pursuing — because they had the support to break cycles.
Most importantly they discussed why this should be the reality for all and not just a lucky few.
That’s what safety looks like for all of us.
At the same time, we are clear-eyed about the challenges ahead. Our jail population has climbed in recent years, so we still have work to do and investments to make to safely reduce it while maintaining accountability and public trust.
The path forward is clear. The solutions that work are the ones grounded in research, coordination across systems, and investments in people.
That means continuing to strengthen programs like Supervised Release, Alternatives to Incarceration, and the Community Justice Reentry Network – programs that help people stabilize their lives.
Simply put: investing in people is one of the smartest public safety strategies we have. It strengthens neighborhoods, reduces reliance on incarceration, and delivers a strong return on public dollars.
Thank you, council, for your commitment to building a stronger and fairer, safer New York; I look forward to continuing our partnership.