Governor Kathy Hochul (D., N.Y.) on Tuesday signed a bill that empowers a statewide task force in New York to consider racial reparations for black New Yorkers whose ancestors were once enslaved in the U.S.
Following California’s and Illinois’s lead, New York is now the third state to authorize a commission that will examine whether any reparations should be made for the nation’s history of slavery and racism. A nine-member task force appointed by Hochul and the state legislature will recommend ways New York can redress past discrimination, which can then be enacted by state lawmakers.
“I know the word ‘reparations’ brings up a lot of conflicting ideas for people,” Hochul said Tuesday before signing the bill. “A lot of people instinctively dig in when they hear it, without really thinking about what it means or why we need to talk about it.”
“Today, I challenge all New Yorkers, to be the patriots and rebuke — and not excuse — our role in benefiting from the institution of slavery,” she added.
California’s task force produced a report in May recommending a reparations program and a formal apology to the state’s black residents, each of whom could receive $1.2 million. The payments, however, would mean a budget deficit of billions of dollars. The state legislature has yet to embed the recommendations in legislation, and Governor Gavin Newsom (D., Calif.) has not said which recommendations he would sign into law.
In San Francisco, Mayor London Breed recently cut the city’s reparations office altogether to meet its $75 million budget cut.
As for Illinois, Evanston became the first U.S. city to start issuing reparations to black residents in the form of housing grants worth up to $25,000. In August, the city announced it had distributed over $1 million so far. The Illinois reparations commission’s work remains ongoing.
Similar to California, New York would struggle to pay restitutions to blacks, given the state’s projected $4.3 billion budget deficit for fiscal year 2024.
State senate minority leader Robert Ortt (R., N.Y.) publicly disagreed with the new legislation, saying New York had already paid its debt for slavery during the Civil War.
“A divisive commission to consider reparations is unworkable,” Ortt said. “As we’ve seen in California, I am confident this commission’s recommendations will be unrealistic, will come at an astronomical cost to all New Yorkers and will only further divide our state.”
The New York commission, which has yet to be appointed, will have one year from the date of its first meeting to report its findings and recommendations for the state legislature’s and governor’s consideration.