The Legal Aid Society criticized Mayor Bill de Blasio over his tone-deaf decision to throw first responders and essential workers a ticker tape parade as a gesture of thanks for work during the pandemic while denying those same workers compensation owed by the City, as reported by The New York Times.

Last week, the City adopted a record $99 billion budget, increasing the NYPD’s budget by $200 million and the budgets of local prosecutor offices by a combined $36 million but refused to fund cost of living (COLA) increases and parity pay to public defenders and civil legal services employees.

“Mayor de Blasio and his administration cannot credibly ask so many of the workers who risked their lives during the last year to settle for a parade rather than receive the compensation that they are rightfully owed,” Legal Aid’s statement reads.