Mayor cuts budget for migrant funds Deep cuts for NYPD, DOE, libraries, sanitation pending court ruling

by Michael Gannon Senior News Editor

Mayor Adams on Thursday presented city residents and taxpayers with the bill for the continued influx of immigrants and asylum seekers.

No city department or service looks to be immune from the steep cuts that were announced in order to shift money to pay for immigrant housing, food and other services.

The New York Post and Daily News reported Tuesday morning that police, fire and sanitation services will be spared an additional round of cuts to be announced in January, which will be needed to eliminate a projected $7.1 billion deficit in the 2024-25 budget, which begins on July 1, 2024.

Cuts include nearly $550 million from eduction, the Queens Public Library, trash basket pickups and staffing at the NYPD, including cancelation of classes at the Police Academy. Adams warned that Thursday’s cuts could easily grow larger in the future, possibly before the end of the present budget year in June, absent a massive assist from the federal government.

The two driving factors, according to the administration are:

• the legal requirement to have a balanced budget with zero red ink; and

• the outcome of a court case in which the city is seeking more clarity on its present-day obligations under Callahan v. Carey, the 1979 lawsuit and subsequent consent order that are the basis for the city’s “right to shelter” policies.

“For months, we have warned New Yorkers about the challenging fiscal situation our city faces,” Adams said in a statement from his office. “To balance the budget as the law requires, every city agency dug into their own budget to find savings, with minimal disruption to services. And while we pulled it off this time, make no mistake: Migrant costs are going up, tax revenue growth is slowing, and Covid stimulus funding is drying up. No city should be left to handle a national humanitarian crisis largely on its own, and without the significant and timely support we need from Washington, DC, today’s budget will be only the beginning.”

Adams did say that the announced cuts still keep the city on track for a balanced $110.5 billion budget this year.

He said the city has budgeted nearly $11 billion for immigrant services for this year and fiscal year 2025 combined, after having spent $1.45 billion last year.

The new figures also project out-year deficits for the next three years of $19.8 billion, including $7.1 billion for fiscal year 2025, which begins July 1, 2024. The latter figure is $2 billion higher than projected back in June when the present budget was approved by the

City Council. The $7.1 billion gap also must be closed with new cuts, new funding or both when new budget projections are released in January 2024

Several of the affected agencies spoke out on Thursday. Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry, in a press release on the union’s website, said the city cannot allow NYPD numbers to fall below the projected 29,000 officers in coming years.

“This is truly a disaster for every New Yorker who cares about safe streets,” Hendry said. “Cops are already stretched to our breaking point, and these cuts will return us to staffing levels we haven’t seen since the crime epidemic of the ’80s and ’90s. We cannot go back there.”

In a joint statement, the Queens, Brooklyn and New York Public libraries said they will be facing, among other things, the elimination of Sunday hours at most if not all of their branches. The Central Library in Jamaica and the Flushing Library will have their last Sunday hours on Nov. 26.

“[We] regret to announce that as a result of mid-year budget cuts, we must eliminate seven-day service across the city, including ending Sunday service at the vast majority of branches that currently offer it,” the libraries said. “We also will be reducing spending on library materials, programming, and building maintenance and repairs. Without sufficient funding, we cannot sustain our current levels of service, and any further cuts to the Libraries’ budgets will, unfortunately, result in deeper service impacts.”

Sources say cuts for this year amount to $23.6 million, with more possible in the January adjustments. They also are anticipating $60 million in reductions in FY 2024-25.

The Uniformed Firefighters Association seemed to be anticipating the news on X, formerly known as Twitter, following a fire that killed three people in Brooklyn on Nov. 13.

“[W]hen it comes to [saving] life and property ... Historically, staffing will always make a difference when the fire season is at its peak,” the union said.

“It is our goal to prevent any fatality at any fire we respond to. We know maintaining proper staffing levels will go a long way in this fight. We call upon our elected officials to keep the FDNY fully funded!!!”

In a joint statement on Thursday, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Jamaica) and Councilman Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn), chairman of the Finance Committee, acknowledged that the budget gaps are as serious as the mayor stated.

But they said the solution should also focus on increasing the city’s revenue rather than the requested cuts. A hearing will take place after Thanksgiving. A previous story reported that the council was expected to vote this week.

“This moment requires effectively managing with precision to protect vital services for New Yorkers,” they said, stating that the administration’s approach of broad budget cuts and hiring freezes “is too blunt, and not the prudent or sole choice.”

They suggested that the city could save money on some migrant services by switching from engaging costly private contractors under emergency provisions to nonprofit groups in the city that have the necessary expertise.

The press release also said new revenue “in some cases will require authorization from Albany for the city to reduce ineffective tax breaks and have revenue options to preserve our fiscal health.” Most city tax change require state approval.

Much in line with the mayor, the speaker and Brannan also said additional aid from all levels of government will be necessary.

The council leadership said it is not yet taking positions on specific revenue proposals; just outlining what it believes should and should not be under consideration.

The council did not address a question from the Chronicle about whether the city should realistically expect more federal funding that thus far has been denied by the Biden administration.

While more help from the state could be coming, the Chronicle on Nov. 2 quoted Gov. Hochul as saying even Albany has its limits.

Hochul said the state this year already has made a $358 million in-year increase to its initial $1.5 billion commitment to the migrant crisis. She said, “New York State can only shoulder this financial commitment for a limited duration without putting other areas of the State budget at risk …”

At-risk areas named specifically in Hochul’s memo included aid to public schools, support for the state’s health delivery infrastructure and the readiness of the New York National Guard.

The Council’s Common Sense Caucus, which has Queens members Joann Ariola (R-Ozone Park), Bob Holden (D-Maspeth) and Vickie Paladino (R-Whitestone) among its members, also opposes the mayor’s cuts, but for far different reasons than the speaker.

A press release from the caucus on Thursday said the answer is to end “right to shelter” provisions for noncitizens.

And they do not believe the mayor needs to wait for a court decision to act.

“No one who has been paying attention to the tens of thousands of migrants flooding into our city’s shelter system will be surprised by the severity of the cuts proposed by Mayor Adams today,” the statement began.

“However, unlike many of the financial crises our city has faced in the past, the current disaster is almost entirely self-created, the result of decades of terrible policies and irresponsible decisions,” it went on. “And this time round there will be no state bailout, no federal funding, no silver bullet to save us.”

They assert there is no constitutional requirement for right to shelter, and that Adams must end it, giving every migrant 30 days notice to vacate a city-run shelter.

They accused a “negligent federal government” of foisting the problem on the city, and agreed that tough decisions are necessary.

“But our responsibility, first and foremost, is to protect and provide for the residents of New York City,” the concluded. “It is indefensible to cut essential services they rely on because their tax money is being used to provide those same services for foreign nationals.”

Members of the council’s Progressive Caucus were somewhat more in line with Speaker Adams. Its representatives from Queens include Members Tiffany Cabán (D-Astoria), Shekar Krishnan (D-Jackson Heights), Julie Won (D-Long Island City), Nantahsa Williams (D-St. Albans) and Jennifer Gutiérrez (D-Brooklyn, Queens).

“As a city, we cannot cut our way to prosperity,” Krishnan said on X.

“Mayor Adams is shrinking our public services and public spaces at the exact moment that New Yorkers need them the most,” he continued. “With growing public school enrollment and thousands of new immigrant families, he is cutting school budgets, pre-K seats, and library hours. In the wake of summer lifeguard shortages and drowning deaths he is cutting free swim classes ... We deserve much better than this bleak vision for our great city.” Q