When NYC Budget Victory Means Restoring Cuts That Shouldn’t Exist

For three years now, the same bait-and-switch has been pulled by the Adams administration— City Hall trots out numbers that lowball the tax revenue of the richest city in the richest country in the world to justify a proposed budget for the next fiscal year with deep (and unnecessary) cuts to libraries, education, parks, and the arts, but also immediate cuts to those very same departments, through what's known as a "program to eliminate the gap" (the last PEG happened in November 2023, after the 2024 budget was passed). 

The City Council then spends months fighting those cuts, trotting out rosier and much more accurate tax projections in an effort to push the Adams administration to restore cuts to essential public goods like 3-K seats and weekend library service, which the mayor has needlessly trimmed. Eventually, the Adams administration says that it has a bit more cash than it thought and that the deepest cuts won't have to be made (yet, that's for the PEG)—and we end up with a budget that continues to shower money on the NYPD, keeps funding for vital City services flat, and City employee headcount at its lowest in decades. 

On Sunday, the latest round of that budget cycle completed itself once again. This year, there were a few notable exceptions where lawmakers were able to eke out a bit more funding. The City Council passed a budget that restored weekend library service, saved community composting services, and saved H.I.V. programs that were slashed during the previous PEG in November. Another bit of good news: The council was able to expand the City's discounted MetroCard program, Fair Fares, by increasing its eligibility to people making around $22,000 dollars annually. 

Some programs, like the City's 3-K program, were given more money as part of a $20 million pot for early childhood, but 3-K still remains underfunded according to advocates, who don't believe that the City is offering universal access to the program for the children. In the budget, the City made a pledge to work toward the goal of providing a seat for every three year old who wants one, but didn't provide the funding that would actually make that a reality next year.

Meanwhile, the NYPD's $11 billion annual budget remained untouched. 

So after three years, and its most successful year ever at staving off the mayor's cuts, has the City Council had enough of this game? Sure seems like it. 

When announcing the deal on Friday, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said she wants to move "away from restoring and toward strengthening and building."

Brooklyn Councilmember Sandy Nurse was more blunt before she cast her vote in favor of the budget on Sunday. 

"By forcing New Yorkers to fight and scrounge for the bare minimums, [Adams] continues to show his inability to properly manage the city," Nurse said. 

Three councilmembers—Alexa Avilés, Tiffany Cabán, and Shahana Hanif, all members of the Democratic Socialists of America—voted against the budget. Last year, there were twelve dissenting votes in the 51 member council. 

With the City Council more combative with the mayor than ever before, the mayor's campaign under federal investigations, and Adams facing a contested reelection next year, it's possible this might finally be the end of the endless game of cuts and restorations. After all, it has certainly hurt Adams's political standing in the city, given that all these cuts have made life for many New Yorkers demonstrably more difficult.

But lest you think we won't be doing this exact same dance again, the City's budget chief has projected a $5.5 billion deficit in 2026. But God forbid we actually begin to address the things that are blowing massive holes in our budget.

Some links to start your fully funded week: 

• One real world impact of the City's staffing cuts? Very few nursing homes are receiving their mandatory inspections. 
• Oh, and the FDNY is possibly facing staffing issues for its ambulances, which is one factor that's leading to longer response times. 
• If only congestion pricing had gone into effect yesterday (like it was scheduled to), then maybe the MTA would have been able to get to the bottom of this mysterious ringing bell at the 50th Street station.
• Meanwhile, in New Jersey, where their transit system is kerploding, riders are furious about a 15 percent fare increase. 
• By the way, here's how much the congestion pricing "pause" is costing the city's transit riders every second it's not turned on (courtesy of a running ticker on the Streetsblog homepage, scroll down to check it out).  
• The bodies of two teens who disappeared while swimming off of Jacob Riis Beach were discovered eight days after they disappeared. 
• Pro-Palestine protesters held up the NYC Pride Parade on Sunday, leading to ten arrests. 
• Meet Zellnor Myrie (and then get ready to re-meet him and re-meet him as he runs for mayor and every New York City media outlet takes a stab at a profile). 
• No body cameras for corrections officers on Rikers all summer because one camera allegedly caught fire. 
• Meet the army that keeps your Citi Bike e-bike alive. 

And finally, friends, this...this is called chutzpah.