November 18th 2023.
Mayor Eric Adams of New York City recently announced a proposed $110.5 billion budget in an effort to tackle the ongoing migrant crisis. He stated that the city has spent $1.45 billion this year alone in order to manage the influx of those seeking refuge.
“For months, we have warned New Yorkers about the challenging fiscal situation our city faces,” said Mayor Adams. “To balance the budget, as the law requires, every city agency dug into their own budget to find savings, with minimal disruption to services.”
The proposed budget includes major cuts to police departments and education, including a hiring freeze for the New York Police Department (NYPD). This would be the first time in nearly four decades that the number of officers would drop below 30,000. There is also a $1 billion decrease in funding for the Education Department over two years, which would weaken summer school programs and plans for universal pre-K.
Mayor Adams commented that “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, D.C., today’s budget will be only the beginning.” He noted that this was one of the most painful exercises he has gone through in his time in government.
Members of the New York City Council have criticized the mayor’s drastic budget cut proposal, claiming his plans would have the worst affect on working-class families. Lincoln Restler, chair of the City Council’s progressive caucus, said that “Mayor Adams’s unnecessary, dangerous and draconian budget cuts will only worsen New York’s affordability crisis and delay our city’s economic recovery by cutting funding for the schools, child care, food assistance and more that help New Yorkers live and raise families in this city.”
The president of the city’s police union has also called on Mayor Adams to reconsider his plan to move resources from law enforcement. President Patrick Hendry stated that “this is truly a disaster for every New Yorker who cares about safe streets. 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.”
The NYPD has been one of the most controversial police departments in the nation and Mayor Adams’ support of the usage of “stop-and-frisk” laws has come under heavy scrutiny in recent years. It remains to be seen if his budget plan will be successful in helping to manage the migrant crisis, as well as how it will affect New Yorkers in general.
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