Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday unveiled a $109 billion budget that contained sharp cuts, but unexpectedly exempted or softened the blow to key services, including schools, libraries, social services and programs for older New Yorkers.
The proposal contrasted with previous proposals for cuts, reflecting the unpopularity of Adams’ earlier reductions and projecting significantly better-than-expected tax revenues than a prior forecast. The police, fire and sanitation departments were entirely spared from another round of cuts.
Some agencies, including parks and sanitation, had initially planned to reduce critical services amid a 5% cut ordered by Adams. The city’s libraries said they were prepared to cut hours of services if their funding had been reduced further.
“After reviewing agency submissions, we determined that some agencies could only meet their targets by significantly disrupting service,” Adams said during a livestreamed address at City Hall on Tuesday afternoon.
At the same time, Adams said New York City was “not out of the woods” and implored the state and federal government to provide more aid to help fund the city’s response to the ongoing migrant crisis.
This year’s budget process began with Adams calling for deep cuts after warning that the migrant crisis would “destroy” the city. In November, he ordered across-the-board cuts that he said he had no choice but to make amid multibillion-dollar deficits he mainly attributed to spending on migrants.
But Tuesday’s plan acknowledged two bright spots for the city’s near-term fiscal picture. Budget officials are now projecting nearly $4 billion more in anticipated tax revenue over 2023 and 2024 – significantly higher than the City Council’s estimate of $1.5 billion and around $1 billion more than projections from the city’s Independent Budget Office.
And earlier in the day, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced she would commit $2.4 billion to help the city with the migrant crisis, an increase from…
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