The New York City Council passed the massive $112.4 billion spending plan on Sunday by a vote of 46-3, with three Democratic Socialist council members voting no.
Mayor Eric Adams, who negotiated with council leaders, praised the measure, which was opposed by only three council members: Councilmembers Tiffany Caban, Shahana Hanif and Alexa Aviles.
The new fiscal year 2025 budget runs from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025.
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“Our Administration’s mission is clear: protect public safety, rebuild our economy and make this city a better place to live, and this budget is direct evidence of that mission,” the mayor said in a statement.
The spending plan released Friday represents a $1 billion increase in spending from the mayor’s executive budget plan.
The budget would include an additional $2 billion in capital construction spending to preserve and create more affordable housing, as well as restore funding for libraries, museums and other cultural institutions, and student support programs such as summer institutes.
Adams and City Council President Adrienne Adams, who is no relation, discussed an overhaul of preschool and 3-year-old programs to ensure classroom seats are allocated to areas of the city where there is parental demand.
The mayor said he and the City Council have approved a fiscally responsible budget that meets New York’s needs, even as they grapple with the migrant crisis and costs associated with the phase-out of federal pandemic aid.
“We passed a joint budget that addresses the three issues that cost New Yorkers the most: housing, child care and health care,” he said.
“Reports of New York City’s decline are exaggerated, but ensuring New York City remains the world capital is hard work and it doesn’t happen naturally, which is why what we invest in over the next 12 months matters,” said Brooklyn Councilman Justin Brannan, chairman of the Finance Committee.
William Farrington
The three Democratic Socialists opposed the bill, complaining that too much money is spent on police and not enough on social services for the poor and education.
“This no vote will in no way make me more popular with those in power,” Cabán, an Astoria city council member, said during the vote in the city council chambers. “But my constituents did not send me to this room to give their approval to Mayor Adams’ budget again.”
“Mayor Adams is pouring money into NYPD pet projects that don’t make our communities truly safer, like the Cop City Multi-Agency Training Center, the 86-person Public Affairs Team, the Teen School Police Cadet Program and Strategic Response Groups,” Hanif said. “Budgets are about choices, but Mayor Adams has made the wrong choice.”
“Despite the council’s best efforts, we cannot approve a budget that continues Mayor Adams’ austerity course,” she said.
The New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America said it would seek a candidate to beat Adams up for reelection next year.
“After years of austerity, New Yorkers finally have the opportunity to remove Eric Adams from City Hall and vote for New York City’s intact financial future,” DSA said in a statement. “The people of this city need a new mayor — one who understands that this city must be a home for the working class, not a playground for the rich.”
