The New York City Council adopted a massive $112.4 billion spending plan Sunday in a 46-3 vote – with the dissenting votes coming from three Democratic socialist representatives.
Mayor Eric Adams – who negotiated the deal with Council leadership – applauded the action, which saw the only opposition from council members Tiffany Caban, Shahana Hanif and Alexa Aviles.
The new fiscal year 2025 budget runs from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025.
“Our administration’s mission is clear: Protect public safety, rebuild our economy, and make this city more livable — and this budget is a direct testament to that mission,” the mayor said in a statement.
The spending plan announced Friday increases spending by $1 billion over the mayor’s executive budget plan.
The budget includes the addition of $2 billion in capital construction spending to preserve and build more affordable housing while restoring funding to libraries, museums and other cultural institutions as well as students support programs such as summer rising.
Both Adams and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who are not related, discussed an overhaul of the pre-k and 3-k programs to make sure classroom seats are going to areas of the city where there is parental demand.
The mayor said he and the council approved a fiscally responsible budget that meets New York’s needs despite grappling with costs associated with the migrant crisis and the phase-out of federal pandemic aid.
“We still passed a collaborative budget that addresses the three things that cost New Yorkers the most: housing, childcare, and health care,” he said.
Brooklyn Councilman Justin Brannan, the finance committee chairman said, “Reports of New York City’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. But making sure New York City remains the Capital of the World is hard work and doesn’t happen on its own. That’s why what we invest in for the next 12 months matters.”
The three dissenting democratic socialists complained that too much money is being spent on the police and not enough on social services for the needy and education.
“This no vote will certainly not grow my popularity with the powers that be,” Cabán, who represents Astoria, said during the floor vote in the council chamber. “But my constituents did not put me in this room to be a rubber stamp on another Mayor Adams budget.”
Hanif said, “Mayor Adams is funneling money into his NYPD pet projects that do not work towards real community safety including the Cop City multi-agency training center, the 86 member PR team, the teenage school police cadet program, and the Strategic Response Group. A budget is about choices and Mayor Adams has made the wrong ones.
“I cannot sign off on a budget that, despite the Council’s best efforts, continues us down Mayor Adams’s path of austerity,” she said.
The NYC chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America said it will look for a candidate to defeat Adams when he’s up for reelection next year.
“After years of austerity, New Yorkers finally have the chance to remove Eric Adams from City Hall and vote for a fully-funded future for New York City instead,” DSA said in a statement. “The people of this city need a new Mayor — one who understands that our city must be a home for the working-class, not a playground for the rich.”
