Last month, Mayor Eric Adams proposed a record-breaking $102.7-billion draft budget, but cuts to key departments could influence New York City’s ability to reach its climate goals.
The reductions include both headcounts and funding for municipal agencies such as the Department of Buildings, which is tasked with implementing Local Law 97, an ambitious regulation that requires cuts to the metro area’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Buildings account for about two-thirds of this pollution.
For the second year in a row, Adams’ proposal falls short on a campaign promise to give the parks department 1% of the city’s total budget needed to maintain and expand greenspace to expand climate efforts with green infrastructure.
The budget does include some support for climate goals. It calls for the hiring of chief decarbonization officers for various agencies to prioritize and streamline reductions in climate pollution in city operations. According to the mayor’s office, five positions were added in the 2023 executive budget to assist with implementation of the landmark law. But overall, the austerity measures could stymie climate progress, experts said.
“One of the more significant takeaways from the budget proposal is the many vacancy reductions that appear throughout the budget, particularly as pertained to departments like the Department of Buildings and the Department of Sanitation,” said Amy Turner, senior fellow at Columbia’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.
The sanitation department helps control carbon emissions through its management of waste streams. It is facing a steep budget cut of 20% even as the mayor promises to roll out a weekly citywide composting program over the next 20 months. The numbers show a slight increase in staffing, about 0.5%. While the DSNY couldn’t provide a number on the additional cost and staffing required to run the nation’s largest organic waste program, Turner said this program is “really important for…
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