New York’s Community Commission on Reparations Remedies has asked for more time and money from the legislature to study and complete a report on the impacts of slavery and systemic racism.
The commission had already allocated $5 million and one year to research the consequences of original enslavement, segregation, and ongoing racism. The Commission president Seanelle Hawkins says they need more time because they have not yet hired an Executive Director and have many other positions unfilled.
New York State Conservative Party Chairman, Gerry Kassar said, "New York's divisive 'Community Commission on Reparations Remedies' has blown through most of its $5 million budget with zero to show for it. Now it wants more time - and another $5 million to waste. Shocker.”
Of note is that New York was never a slave state and also explicitly opposed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and resisted its enforcement. Further, New York was considered a safe state for fugitive slaves.
The Commission now asks for at least an additional six months to study the issue. Sponsors Sen. James Sanders (D-Queens) and Assembly member Michaelle Solages (D-Elmont) said they are not certain the law can be amended but they are talking to legislature leaders to push the issue.
The reasons why the Commission requested more funding when they have not started their work is unclear. Much, if not all, of the originally allocated $5 million should still be in tact.
"Virtue signaling Democrats controlling the State Legislature will almost certainly renew the Commission - at any cost - knowing full well, in advance, what its recommendations will be: wealth distribution, the same goal the political Left has had since Marx published The Communist Manifesto in 1848. Reparations are just the latest tactic, and New Yorkers aren't falling for it,” said Kassar.
Many wonder why the need for the committee and for reparations.
“We confidently predict that the Commission’s findings will lead to other ethnic groups demanding redress for past injustices. Indeed, turning New Yorkers against one another based on their skin color is now official state policy. Is it any wonder Americans are turning away from the Party of Jefferson and Jackson? (These former presidents have been lamentably cancelled by the Left.), said Kassar.
Kassar concluded saying, "Meanwhile, what has the 'Commission' accomplished? Can they show us their work product? New York Taxpayers are all eyes. Where's the beef?"
California went through a largely performative reparations process in 2024 that had elements vetoed by the Governor and other elements stopped from getting a vote. The California reparations proposals were mired in logistical, legal, and expense issues not to mention strong opposition. The process primarily resulted in an apology for slavery from the State of California.
The South Shore Press reached out to New York’s Community Commission on Reparations Remedies via phone and email for comment on why more time is being requested, what/how funds have already been spent, and what the requested new funding was intended for, and did not receive a response.