NYC's Black Lives Matter Murals Cost $6K

NEW YORK, NY — New York City spent funds allocated to the Department of Transportation to paint Black Lives Matter murals on four city streets — including the Fifth Avenue stretch that includes Trump Tower — amid a budget crunch caused by the coronavirus crisis, a city hall spokesperson confirmed.

The paint for murals on Fifth Avenue, Bed-Stuy's Fulton Street, Jamaica's 153rd Street and the Bronx's Morris Avenue cost the DOT an estimated $6,000, a City Hall spokesperson said Friday. Paint for murals on Staten Island's Richmond Terrace and Manhattan's Centre Street was donated to the city.

A seventh mural painted in Harlem was organized and funded by a neighborhood nonprofit.

Mayor Bill de Blasio helped paint "Black Lives Matter" in large yellow letters in front of Trump Tower on Thursday, calling the event an "extraordinary moment" that was "very moving" for all who participated during his Friday press briefing.

"It was important to not just have the Black Lives Matter murals in other parts of the city — other crucial locations which have also very emotional and powerful — but this one had a particular meaning because we have to send a message to the seat of power to the President of the United States that Black Lives Matter, and he cannot do anything to stop that," de Blasio said.

President Donald Trump has lashed out at de Blasio for the mural, which the president calls a "symbol of hate" that will "denigrate" the luxury avenue.

"NYC is cutting Police $'s by ONE BILLION DOLLARS, and yet the [mayor] is going to paint a big, expensive, yellow Black Lives Matter sign on Fifth Avenue, denigrating this luxury Avenue. This will further antagonize New York's Finest, who LOVE New York & vividly remember the horrible BLM chant, 'Pigs In A Blanket, Fry 'Em Like Bacon,'" Trump tweeted when the city announced plans for the mural.

The stretch of Fifth Avenue remained closed Friday as the city's new mural dries. The city Department of Transportation announced plans to create a busway on Fifth Avenue from 34th Street to 57th Street in early June.

The New York City Council passed an $88.1 billion budget for the 2021 fiscal year that, by Mayor de Blasio's admission, includes deep cuts to city agencies. The Council and de Blasio administration passed a $92.8 billion budget for fiscal year 2020. City officials say that the coronavirus crisis sapped about $9 billion in city funds through a combination of lost revenue and emergency spending.

The DOT is facing cuts of about $8.5 million compared to the 2020 fiscal year budget, according to City Council records. The $6,000 to paint murals represents a small fraction of the total cut to the department. A bike helmet giveaway in a city council district costs about $5,000 in funding from the DOT, according to discretionary fund initiatives listed in the city's budget documents by local lawmakers.