BK Lawmaker Threatens Hunger Strike Over Governor's Bail Changes

BROOKLYN, NY — A tense fight to stop bail reform rollbacks proposed by Gov. Kathy Hochul could escalate to a hunger strike for one Brooklyn lawmaker.

“I am prepared to go on a hunger strike to make sure that this does not happen,” Assemblymember Latrice Walker said Monday about the governor's proposed changes to the 2019 bail reform laws, according to reports. “When our rights are under attack, what are we going to do? Stand up and fight back.”

The hunger strike threat comes as progressive Democrats like Walker, an architect of bail reform, work to stop Hochul's proposed changes from making it into the state budget, which is set to be finalized April 1.

After originally promising to leave bail reforms in place, Hochul unveiled a plan last week to make more crimes bail eligible. The changes would walk back 2019 reforms that make it harder to keep people behind bars while they await trial.

Among the changes is a partial roll back of the "Raise the Age" law — which stopped young offenders from being charged as an adult until they're 18 — that was also included in Mayor Eric Adams' plan to address gun violence. Hochul and Adams contend that judges should be allowed to charge teens as an adult if they possess of gun.

Advocates have warned the governor's proposal will only lead to more young Black and Latinx New Yorkers being imprisoned.

"Governor Hochul's plan to rollback New York's historic Raise The Age statute will only lead to the caging of more young Black and Latinx New Yorkers while failing to address root causes, which in many cases are directly tied to poverty and a lack of robust services," the Legal Aid Society said in a statement.

Walker, who has also scuffled with Adams on the issue, vowed Monday to stand firm on stopping the changes.

"We do not want to see it in this budget or any other budget,” Walker said, according to Gothamist. “We're done. We roll it back today, they're going to come back tomorrow. They're relentless.”