NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday released his administration’s budget for next year and with it a series of cuts to fill a widening financial gap.
The next five police academy classes are canceled, which city officials estimate will raise the total number of NYPD officers from 33,000 to 29,000 over the next two years.
The city said it plans to spend approximately $12 billion on the ongoing immigration crisis over the next two years.
City officials said next year’s budget deficit has grown from $5 billion in June to more than $7 billion in November.
“I think New Yorkers like to speak out, we’re in financial trouble right now,” Adams said at an event in Chelsea.
“This is truly a disaster for all New Yorkers who care about safe streets,” Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Henry said in a statement. “Police officers are already stretched thin and these cuts will bring us back to the staffing levels we have.” “It hasn’t been seen since the crime epidemic of the ’80s and ’90s. We can’t go back there.”
Details about the city’s budget cuts are scarce in part because city officials only held a virtual briefing Thursday and reporters were not allowed to use any quotes from it. The city did not distribute any detailed budget books.
“To balance the budget as required by law, each city agency turned to its own budget to find savings, with minimal disruption to services,” Adams said in a statement. “And even though we got it done this time, make no mistake: Migrant costs are rising, tax revenue growth is slowing, and COVID stimulus funding is drying up.”
The administration said residents could expect $1 billion in cuts to schools and after-school programs would be reduced.
“Today’s proposed budget cuts risk harming the well-being of all New Yorkers, especially the most vulnerable,” City Comptroller Brad Lander said in a statement. “The City Council should stop suggesting that asylum seekers are the reason for imposing severe cuts when they are only contributing to a portion of these budget deficits, many of which already existed.”
The New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library and Queens Public Library said they would need to eliminate Sunday service.
“Without sufficient funding, we cannot maintain our current levels of service, and any additional cuts to library budgets will unfortunately result in deeper impacts to service,” the libraries said in a statement.
2023-11-17 03:17:31
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