A majority of the City Council has signed a letter calling on Mayor Eric Adams to add at least $195 million for legal service providers to next year’s budget, warning that the city-supported lawyers face a “funding crisis.”
The letter, carrying signatures from 26 of the Council’s 51 members, said local right-to-counsel providers and public defenders need salary increases to ensure free legal services are available to millions of New Yorkers who rely on them.
The letter arrives as the left-leaning Council and the moderate mayor haggle over the municipal budget for the 2024 fiscal year. The deadline for the city to adopt the budget falls at the end of the month.
