Listen to our recording of the rally by clicking the audio player above.
On Friday, March 21st 2025, Bay Ridge residents rallied outside of Nicole Malliotakis’s district office to protest her vote to cut funding to Medicaid. Residents and health professionals all spoke about the seriousness of the cuts, and how they would impact them and their lives.
What Are They Protesting?
Local residents are protesting against a bill passed by Nicole Malliotakis that forces the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which oversees Medicaid, to cut $880 billion from it’s budget. Even if the agency cut every program or other than Medicaid and Medicare, it still wouldn’t be enough to hit the $880 billion dollar target. This means Medicaid (or Medicare) will see major cuts in 2025.
Who Was Protesting?
Local Bay Ridge residents and health professionals advocating for essential reforms to the medical system.
What Did They Say?
“I think we all ended up here today because we are tired of opening up our phones and seeing nothing but Trump and Musk taking a chainsaw to basic services regular people depend on. Services like Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP.” said the organizer, Christina. She bluntly countered Malliotakis’s lie that she’s carefully using a scalpel to find waste. “It’s not to cut waste and fraud, but to give tax cuts to billionaires… these cuts will result in a loss of 2.7 billion dollars in our district” that includes Bay Ridge and Staten Island.
The protestors highlighted that the money for these services is supposed to be overseen by Congress, but Malliotakis has given up to Musk and Trump. They were “meant to represent us, our kids, our parents, our grandparents, our neighbors. But where are our representatives!?” the first organizers said, to clapping and shouts of agreement. “Nicole won’t notice when our neighbors are harmed. But we will!”
Bay Ridge residents will be affected by Malliotakis’s Medicare and Medicaid cuts, say local volunteer organizations.
Karen, a Bay Ridge resident and president of Bay Ridge Cares, spoke passionately about the work her organization does to provide food and support to needy families in Bay Ridge. She sees first-hand the struggles people go through. Our neighbors “built Bay Ridge with their hard work and their dedication, yet many are struggling with food insecurities, rising rents, and heart-wrenching choices between purchasing groceries and vital medication.” Despite the work her organization does, she sees the cuts to SNAP as catastrophic for food pantries and meal delivery services for seniors. “These cuts couldn’t come at a worse time. Food prices are soaring, and inflation is squeezing household budgets tighter than ever.” The cuts “are the difference between a full plate, and an empty stomach.”
She highlighted the reliance the neighborhood has on these benefits: 26.5% of residents rely on Mediaid, while 11.8% depend on Medicare: thousands of residents in Bay Ridge alone. “The proposed budget cuts to Medicare and Medicaid supported by [Congresswoman] Malliotakis are not just abstract numbers. The are real and devastating consequences… [and would] translate into fewer doctors available for Medicare patients. I’m one of them.”
The cuts wouldn’t be limited to food assistance and doctors. Support for prescription drug coverage, nursing homes, home care services, chronic illnesses, and disabled children would be affected.
Slashing these programs will mean more people of all ages will face hunger, untreated illnesses, and financial ruin due to medical costs. And what does Nicole have to say about this? Instead of taking responsibility for her vote, she refuses to be held accountable.
Karen repeated Nicole’s assurances that there would be no cuts to these services, to shouts of “liar” from the crowd. She encouraged residents to use their critical thinking skills: “the truth is simple. When you divert funds from essential services, that money has to come from somewhere. That means fewer services, fewer doctors, and more families left struggling… and by voting yes for a budget that prioritizes corporate tax breaks over the health and dignity of our neighbors?! She has failed every single one of us.”
At the end of her speech, she exposed Malliotakis’s political cowardice and partisanship. “Public service is not about self preservation. It’s about sacrifice.” Karen said, to clapping from the crowd. “It’s about choosing the hard and right, over the easy and wrong. It’s about standing up for the people who entrusted you with their futures, not bowing to the forces that demand their suffering.”
“The choice is yours Nicole. Stand with us, or be remembered for turning your back away from us when you are needed the most.”
Health experts in agreement: Medicaid cuts kill.
Dr. Brown, a retired pulmonary physician, provided an expert view on what the cuts really mean for children, teenagers, and younger adults. He told a story about an 18-year old asthmatic teenager who allowed their condition to become severe due to a lack of healthcare coverage. Medicaid, he pointed out, provides coverage for many children.
“I’ve been working for many many years”, Dr. Brown said, “with Physicians for a National Health Program. It includes, over 10,000 strong, physicians, nurses, therapists, social workers, who are committed to getting Medicare for all.” With the possibility of a federal Medicare for All program dead in the water, they’ve been pushing for the New York Health Act, which would provide it at the state level.
“Even though we face defeat after defeat in many of these fights, we do the right thing.” This prompted a chant through the crowd of “Do the right thing!”, directed at the cardboard cutout of Malliotakis.
Dr. Mark then stepped up to talk. A member of The Nonviolent Medicaid Army and a doctor practicing in the Bronx. “As a doctor, every day, I see patients who are sick and injured because of the simple fact that they cannot afford their care.” He described multiple patients who allowed conditions to worsen because they were squeezed by an unjust medical system. “I take care of people whose diagnoses are delayed because of necessary tests not being covered by their insurance.”
As a doctor, I know that our communities already don’t get the care they need. Further cuts to Medicaid will only make that worse. I know that Medicaid cuts kill. Cuts kill.
Calling out a lack of representation from Nicole Malliotakis, he explained: “These cuts didn’t start with this administration, but they are being pushed forward and being doubled down on by those who are supposed to represent our needs.
He explained how his organization is pushing forward with advocating for better healthcare, not worse. “I’ve connected with folks from all different experiences and backgrounds and points on the political spectrum who know that healthcare is a human right… and our basic rights cannot be on the chopping block.”
Dr. Mark said that while Malliotakis’s cuts affect our lives, “they also unite us, in our rage and our focus to affect real change.” He encouraged everyone to band together to form a unified front to push for a fundamental change in society, “to hold all our power holders accountable for playing with our lives… as a doctor and member of NVMA, I call shame on anyone willing to entertain the idea of these cuts.”
To shouts of “shame”, Dr. Mark wrapped up, demanding that “we need healthcare, not tax cuts, not warfare, not wealth care. And we need health care NOW.”
“Do your part… or face us” Bay Ridge residents say to Malliotakis
Kristen, a mother of two and Bay Ridge resident, was the last speaker of the afternoon, a member of Bay Ridge Cares and the Bay Ridge chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. With a family that has lived in Bay Ridge for four generations, she spoke candidly about how Bay Ridge would be affected by Nicole Malliotakis’s desire to cut Medicare and Medicaid.
“When Nicole talks about Medicaid, there’s a picture she wants to conjure in your head, right? The medicare recipient. Someone who’s somehow unworthy of health… first of all, there’s nobody unworthy of health,” Kristen shouted to cheers. “No citizen in the United States of America, the nation with the highest gross domestic product in the world, should suffer because we are too callous to provide aid to our own people.”
“Here’s the truth about Medicaid. It does far more for our community than Nicole would like you to believe. It provides funding for teaching hospitals. Training for doctors, nurses, physicians assistants, and behavioral health professionals, to help maintain a strong healthcare workforce.”
She explained how it’s not just everyday care, but emergency and disaster preparedness. Citing Superstorm Sandy and 9/11, she reminded the audience: disasters like this will happen again, and when they do, the cuts Malliotakis is proposing may very well cripple us.
On a personal note, Kristen explained that she worked for years on an emotional crisis hotline, which relied on the funding Malliotakis is hoping to cut. Non-emergency medical transport. Home care. Early intervention for toddlers and babies with developmental disabilities. Kristens list of programs that may be affected included dozens of critical services that Bay Ridge residents use every day.
Driving the point home, she told the crowd how many people Nicole Malliotakis was turning her back on: 200,000 people on Medicaid in New York’s 11th Congressional District, which covers Bay Ridge and Staten Island.
“These are our friends and family. This is the single mom next door and her kids who relying on SNAP so they can get on their feet. This is your neighbor’s teen who is having a long dark night of the soul who needs someplace to reach out for help. These are your parents or grandparents who worked hard, gave their best to this country, and should not need to go bankrupt because they need long term care. These are the men and women who answered the call to fight for our country, who deserve robust and comprehensive benefits, thanks to their enormous sacrifice.”
In voting for these cuts, Nicole has voted against us, the people of her district, every single time. Why? The answer is clear. Because she puts party over country, party over her own constituents.
Kristen asked Malliotakis to finally put her party loyalty aside, and stand up for her own neighbors, something she has refused to do as she advanced her career with powerful Washington D.C. lobbyists and political power brokers. “It’s not too late,” Kristen said. “Do your part to save your constituents from the unruly actions of this out of control administration. Or face us.”
The crowd cheered wildly. As the protest wound down, attendees were encouraged to take photographs with the cardboard cutout of their elected official: perhaps the closest they’d ever get to seeing her in person. A whiteboard was passed around so people could write their messages to her and take photos, and post-it notes were left on her door.
Some notes were an almost friendly attempt to remind Nicole how to do her job. One read, “Hi Nicole! Why are you letting the prez bypass congressional law? They (you – congress) OK’s funding. So only congress can take it away. Do your job!” Others were questioning: “Why are you supporting Trump / Billionaire cuts to Medicaid when you should be supporting your constituents?”
Other notes referenced a demand for a town hall, which Nicole has never held. “When will you speak with your constituents on what we need?”
Yet other notes almost sounded like a wellness check on our AWOL congresswoman. “Why are you letting Trump bully you?” one said. Others were more forceful, like one that said: “We were here and you chickened out. We voted you in and we can vote you out.”
Many constituents were unafraid, boldly signing their names to their comments.
Local residents share their fears and concerns over Malliotakis’s vote.
After the protest, Radio Free Bay Ridge was on hand to interview attendees about their own personal experiences and how they felt about Malliotakis’s vote.
“I’ve lived here my entire life. Sixty-seven years.”, one man told us. “Just started taking social security. Never thought at this point in my life…” he said, choking up, “I’d have to worry about it. My wife starts taking it in two or three months, so… I just never thought I’d be doing this at this age.”
Another woman, when asked why she showed up, said simply: “Because I’m enraged. Because the barbarity of it just gets me, every minute of the day.” She gave Radio Free Bay Ridge the list of questions she hoped Malliotakis would answer, which she had pushed under the door to the office.
I’m enraged… the barbarity of it just gets me, every minute of the day.
She was confused how Nicole consistently references her immigrant past, but ignores the meaning of it. “Her father is from Crete. The Cretans were the greatest anti-fascists, anti-nazis,” she explained, referring to the heroic defense of the island of Crete that everyday Greek citizens undertook during World War Two. Indeed, one of our podcast hosts is also Cretan, and remembers his grandfather explaining how his family impaled Nazi paratroopers on pitchforks as they landed on their family farm.
She didn’t spare capitulating Democrats either. “I’m enraged also by the Democrats. By Shumer, Gillibrand, all those pathetic weasels.” Not content with referencing only one of Bay Ridge’s old immigrant communities, the Greeks, she added the Norwegians into the mix. She equated New York Senators Chuck Shumer and Kristen Gillibrand to Vidkun Quisling, the Norwegian politician who collaborated with the Nazis and handed the government over to them.
Apart from rage, another man said he was there because “I’m exhausted.” Not only by the horrific cuts, but by the anti-constitutional behavior Malliotakis has exhibited. “Not acting as a co-equal branch of government… standing by… it’s extremely damning.” he said, referencing the way in which Malliotakis passed the budget, effectively handing over all power to the executive branch to accomplish the cuts however they wanted. This meant Malliotakis could avoid saying she voted to cut Medicaid: she simply voted to have someone else do it for her.
“Nicole Malliotakis I already thought wasn’t in particularly good shape as an elected official… and somehow she keeps plumbing deeper depths.”
