The Queens Borough Board voted overwhelmingly to approve the package of budget priorities Monday, Feb. 13, although several community board chairs expressed concern over issues caused by the city’s migrant crisis.
Chaired by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, the budget priorities were developed largely from input received from two days of public hearings late last month on Mayor Eric Adam’s proposed $102 billion 2024 budget.
Pursuant to the City Charter, the Borough Board must submit its budget priorities each year to the mayor, the City Council and the city’s Office of Management and Budget.
Irak Cehonski, director of budget for the Queens Borough President’s Office, presented numbers on Monday that showed significant budget shortfalls for city agencies — except for the NYPD — and how much they’ll affect city services in Queens.
Most concerning among the budget cuts included a $295.3 million shortfall for the Department of Education, a $73.8 million shortfall for the Department for the Aging — including a $24 million cut to home-delivered meals — and a $257 million shortfall for the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
“Especially coming out of the pandemic, I don’t know how we cut anything to do with health,” Richards said. “We weren’t prepared during the first wave of the pandemic — I know all of us remember those days and we don’t want to see it again — so we need to make sure we’re fighting those cuts as well.”
Richards also bristled at the Summer Youth Employment Program being slashed by $21.7 million; the Department of Sanitation facing more than $53 billion in reductions; a $61.6 million shortfall at the Department of Housing Preservation and Development; and a $12.2 million shortfall for Queens Public Library.
Cehonski said the Department of Homeless Services slashing nearly $70 million is a “huge concern” for Queens and moments later Community Board 3 Chairman Frank Taylor explained why.
“It…
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