Some of New York City’s most influential members of Congress are calling on Mayor Eric Adams to back off a string of “short-sighted” spending cuts he’s seeking as part of the next municipal budget, which is due in less than two weeks.
Adams’ $106.7 billion executive budget bid for next fiscal year would reduce funding for a variety of education, housing and social service initiatives. The mayor has argued his plan balances the needs of New Yorkers against the city’s dire fiscal outlook, which is being exacerbated by the costly migrant crisis.
In a Monday letter to the mayor, Democratic Reps. Jerry Nadler, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Nydia Velazquez and Jamaal Bowman — who represent parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx — countered that his budget vision would “create deep harms in both the immediate and long-term” that must be avoided. Nadler, the dean of New York’s congressional delegation, and his fellow House members argued not reversing the cuts would be “fiscally irresponsible” as it could result in more long-term costs for the city.
“Some of the cuts proposed in your administration’s executive budget are relatively small but troublingly short-sighted,” they wrote in the letter, which was exclusively shared with the Daily News.
The missive — which was also signed by Comptroller Brad Lander, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and 17 Democratic members of the state Legislature — lists off several categories of belt-tightening that the politicians urged Adams to scrap before he and the City Council must reach a budget deal by July 1.
Among them are a $15 million cut to supportive housing initiatives; a $12 million cut to a program providing meals for seniors; a $38 million cut to after-school and summer programs; a $17 million cut to programming for inmates, and a $36 million cut to the city’s three public library systems.
The letter also raises alarm about Adams’ proposed elimination of a planned expansion of the city’s universal 3-K program and staffing shortages at the Departments of Social Services and Housing Preservation and Development, which are struggling to fulfill basic duties, like processing food stamps and boosting affordable housing production.
The pols contrasted those budgetary realities against the fact that “the NYPD is on track to exceed its overtime budget by $683 million over the past two years.”
They capped off the letter by urging Adams to join them in “a shared commitment to a city that works for everyone.”
Spokespeople for Adams did not immediately return requests for comment.
It’s unusual for federal lawmakers to take such a direct stance in city budget negotiations.
Nadler said he decided to weigh in because the city cannot afford “deep cuts at a time when so many of our neighbors are still recovering from the pandemic.”
“It is my hope that Mayor Adams changes course and reverses these cuts to what are essential services,” he told The News.
Monday’s letter comes as Ocasio-Cortez, typically one of the most outspoken progressives on Capitol Hill, is staying uncharacteristically quiet ahead of this month’s Council primaries. She has opted against endorsing any Council candidates this year.
In reference to the Council, Ocasio-Cortez and the other letter signees argued it would serve the city better if Adams embraces the “vision” laid out by the chamber’s response to his executive budget. The Council response, which forecasted higher tax revenues than Adams’ team did at first, would undo most of the cuts pushed by Adams and increase funding on some fronts.
Adams has said the Council’s plan would be irresponsible as his administration projects multi-billion dollars budget deficits in coming years that could force drastic service and staffing cuts down the road unless some spending is reined in now.
With the July 1 deadline approaching, Adams’ team and Council negotiators are in the final stretch of budget talks at the same time as many of the chamber’s members are fighting for reelection in the June 27 primaries.
Council leaders and Adams’ team have both said they don’t expect the budget to pass until after the primary — leaving a short window of time for adoption before the deadline.
In a sign that the two sides remain far apart on spending priorities, Adams has not ruled out a late budget. “We’ll see what happens,” he said earlier this month when asked if the budget deadline might get blown.
