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.
