Mayor Eric Adams announced on Thursday painful budget cuts to New York City services. These cuts include a freeze on police hiring, closures of libraries on Sundays, and reductions to the Education Department budget. The mayor warned that without additional federal funding to manage the migrant crisis, more cuts would be necessary.
The budget cuts will result in a decrease in the number of Police Department employees to below 30,000. The Education Department budget will be slashed by $1 billion over two years. The rollout of composting in the Bronx and Staten Island will be delayed. Additionally, popular programs such as summer school and universal prekindergarten will be weakened.
Mayor Adams stated that these cuts were necessary due to the rising costs of the migrant crisis, slowing tax revenues, and the ending of federal pandemic aid. He emphasized the need for significant and timely support from Washington, D.C. to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
These budget cuts come at a critical time for Mayor Adams, who is facing both an influx of migrants from the southern border and a federal investigation into his campaign’s fundraising. He acknowledged that the cuts would be extremely painful for New Yorkers.
Progressive Democrats criticized the mayor’s cuts, arguing that they would disproportionately impact working-class families. They expressed concerns about the affordability crisis and the city’s economic recovery. The City Council’s progressive caucus vowed not to cooperate with the cuts.
Mayor Adams highlighted the growing cost of the migrant crisis, which is expected to reach nearly $11 billion over two years. He also mentioned a major $7 billion gap in next year’s budget. The cuts will go into effect immediately, pending approval from the City Council.
City officials, including Council speaker Adrienne Adams, called for essential programs like libraries and the City University of New York to be spared from deep cuts. They suggested exploring new revenue sources and shifting migrant services to nonprofits.
The police union president, Patrick Hendry, criticized the police hiring freeze, arguing that it would make New Yorkers less safe. He expressed concerns about staffing levels returning to those seen during the crime epidemic of the ’80s and ’90s.
Library leaders announced that the budget cuts would force them to close branches on Sundays starting in December. Nonprofit leaders also raised concerns about the impact on essential services, such as food pantries and legal services.
Leaders of the left-leaning Working Families Party accused Mayor Adams of unfairly blaming migrants for the cuts and urged him to find alternative solutions. City Comptroller Brad Lander emphasized the need for more state and federal funding while cautioning against solely attributing the budget gaps to asylum seekers.
Despite celebrating an increase in student enrollment at New York City public schools, the Education Department will face significant cuts. These cuts will impact resources for new students and academic recovery efforts following pandemic school closures.
Mayor Adams acknowledged that the budget cuts will harm his key policy priorities and expressed personal pain over the decision.