New York City’s nearly $107 billion budget package is due at midnight Friday, though it could be announced Thursday. And one perceived casualty seems to have been at least partially saved: sources familiar with negotiations told the New York Post on Wednesday that Adams and the City Council have struck a deal to restore approximately $36 million in predicted cuts to the city’s public library system.
Still, many lawmakers involved in negotiations complain that the growing costs of the multibillion-dollar migrant crisis are putting the hurt on funding for other things.
The city Office of Management and Budget estimates it’ll cost over $4.3 billion to house, feed, and provide other services to over 50,000 migrants living in 176 taxpayer-funded homeless shelters and hotels in New York City. The federal and state funding isn’t coming close to that number.
With that haunting sum in mind, Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala (D-East Harlem) told the New York Post that the council is still fighting to fund several priorities:
- Additional funding for the CUNY system
- Social services programs that impact seniors
- Getting $195 million to right-to-counsel providers and public defenders
- Funding the “3K for all” program
Sources said this year’s budget negotiations are marred not only by the migrant crisis and Tuesday’s primary elections, but a souring relationship between Adams and the council.
Last year, City Hall and the council agreed on a budget deal almost three weeks before the deadline.
But in a text from Finance Committee Chairman Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn) to the New York Post, he said “We’re getting there. Still a few items on the table. Budget will be on time as the council promised,”
