Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

City Budget

City Budget

  • City Construction Department Touts Productivity When Freed from 'Typical Constrained Regime' by Emergency Declaration

    construction city projects

    Construction underway (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayor's Office)


    Officials at the city’s Department of Design and Construction, the agency responsible for designing, procuring, and constructing public buildings and infrastructure, told the City Council on Wednesday that the coronavirus pandemic has shown how its work can be made more efficient.

    That includes the city using its new design-build authority -- which the state approved an expansion of

    ...
  • De Blasio Warns of Cuomo Budget Moves, Outlines Albany Agenda in Final State Legislative Hearing

    1 budget hearing governments

    Mayor de Blasio testifying remotely (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio pleaded to state legislators on Thursday to protect New York City from hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts and cost shifts in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Budget for the next fiscal year, warning that the damage could be worse if federal stimulus aid is not delivered on time.  

    In his annual, and final, appearance before the state Legislature to testify about the governor’s budget plan and the

    ...
  • What's The [DATA] Point? $7.4 Billion, Examining the Governor's Executive Budget

    whats the data point


    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 101 -- $7.4 Billion, with EJ McMahon  [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    $7.4 billion is how much New York State personal income tax was paid in 2018 by residents of other states. This revenue stream may be threatened if a lawsuit over taxation of out-of-state telecommuting residents prevails. Today's guest, the Empire Center’s E.J. McMahon, explains why this lawsuit is so important, and also

    ...
  • Max & Murphy Podcast: What the De Blasio Administration Wants from the Biden Administration

    us conf mayorswinter

    Mayor de Blasio (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)


    January 20, 2021 - Max & Murphy Podcast: What the De Blasio Administration Wants from the Biden Administration

    Bill Neidhardt, press secretary for Mayor de Blasio, joined the show to discuss the de Blasio administration's priorities when it comes to the new Biden administration in Washington.

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think -- we're on Twitter @TweetBenMaxand ...

  • De Blasio Releases $92.3 Billion Preliminary Budget for 2022 Fiscal Year

    de blasio budget address

    De Blasio in 2017 (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio released a $92.28 billion preliminary budget for the 2022 Fiscal Year on Thursday, expressing optimism that the city will receive additional federal funds but warning of cuts from the state.

    The mayor’s budget plan for next fiscal year, which begins July 1, is more than $4 billion larger than the budget that was adopted last year for the current fiscal year, and reflects a nearly $20 billion increase from the last budget he inherited from former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

    ...
  • Chuck Schumer's Moment

    3 nys congressio

    U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (photo: governor's office)


    With Democrats poised to win both seats in the Georgia United States Senate runoffs, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York is poised to be one of the most influential elected officials in the country, with enormous implications for his home state and city. After four years leading the minority conference, Schumer is on the verge of being able to set the agenda in the Senate under Democratic President-elect Joe Biden and in partnership with a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives under Speaker Nancy

    ...
  • City Council Speaker Unveils Comprehensive Planning Legislation

    m b skyline

    New York City development (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    City Council Speaker Corey Johnson on Wednesday unveiled legislation that would overhaul New York City’s long-term planning processes, eliminating duplicative procedures, streamlining agency coordination, and establishing a more proactive, holistic approach to land use and budgeting that prioritizes racial and economic justice. 

    For decades, the city’s zoning, land use, and development have been subject to disparate sets of mandates and guidelines, some overlapping and redundant, in

    ...
  • The Status of $6.5 Billion in Federal Covid Aid to New York City and State as End-of-Year Spending Deadline Looms

    Cuomo Javits hospital beds supplies

    Gov. Cuomo at a covid briefing (photo: Governor's Office)


    New York City has spent its entire $1.4 billion allocation from the Coronavirus Relief Fund, a key portion of the federal CARES Act relief package that expires at the end of the month. The state government is far from spending its own, much larger allotment from the fund, but officials say it will identify eligible spending without having to return money to the federal government.

    Many other states and localities have been struggling to distribute the funding, wrangling with strict

    ...
  • ‘Hanging On’ is Not a Management Strategy

    fy202 eb

    Mayor de Blasio (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography)


    As required by the state Financial Control Act, last Monday Mayor de Blasio presented a modification of New York City’s current fiscal year budget and four-year financial plan. This “first quarter mod” is usually a no-drama, technical adjustment that makes few substantive changes to the budget adopted at the

    ...
  • What's At Stake for New York City in the 2020 Presidential Election

    3 whats pres ed

    Joe Biden, with Andrew Cuomo (photo: governor's office)


    The country will be watching, and voting, with bated breath on Tuesday as the most consequential presidential election in decades nears conclusion. More than 84 million Americans have already cast their ballots in early voting and turnout is expected to break records despite the lingering coronavirus pandemic. 

    There’s much at stake for New York City in this election and it’s an understatement

    ...
  • New York City Covid Spending Tops $4 Billion, Virtually All Covered by Federal Funds

    4 city has billions

    Mayor de Blasio inspects school cleaning (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    The COVID-19 pandemic has cost more than $4 billion in direct New York City expenses through mid-October, almost all of which the city expects to pay for with federal dollars.

    Of the total spending, $4.08 billion has been registered in contracts, according to a report from City Comptroller Scott Stringer. Almost two-thirds of that

    ...
  • What We Mean by Defund The Police

    police dep joneill

    NYPD officers at a precinct (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)


    While there's widespread agreement today about the need to change or improve policing in our country, we fall far short of a consensus about the particular reforms needed. Should the changes leave the basic institutions of policing intact or should they be far-reaching? Should we dismantle current law enforcement structures and replace them with new entities? Or more generously fund existing agencies for promoting safety and justice?

    Advocates' analysis is that abusive practices, from

    ...
  • The Mayor and Governor Must Save Community Nonprofits to Save Lives and Livelihoods

    pack home staff

    Essential workers need help (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    The COVID-19 pandemic is not just a medical problem—it's a social one. As everyone knows, it is caused by the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. But it is fueled by inequity. Black and Latino New Yorkers have been twice as likely to die from COVID-19 as their white neighbors because of a raft of social factors: People of color are more likely to live in

    ...
  • Letter to the Editor: The Assembly Member’s Bad Bank Note

    carol kellermann op

    A budget presentation (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography)


    To the Editor:

    In an op-ed recently published by Gotham Gazette, Assemblymember Ron Kim advanced an ill-informed and dangerous argument that, instead of issuing the $5 billion in debt the Mayor is seeking through the municipal bond market, the city should instead borrow from the Federal Reserve’s Municipal Liquidity Facility (MLF).

    ...

  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Senator Gianaris on Next Steps in New York's Recovery

    2 max murphy podcast gianaris

    State Senator Michael Gianaris (photo: Senator Michael Gianaris' office)


    September 23, 2020 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Senator Gianaris on Next Steps in New York's Recovery

    State Senator Michael Gianaris of Queens joined the show to discuss next steps in reopening the New York economy, how the State Senate Democratic majority is thinking about addressing the state and city fiscal crises, and more.

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think -- we're on Twitter ...

  • New York Should Borrow to Plug Covid Budget Holes, But Not from Private Investors

    rontkim fiscal

    Mayor de Blasio at a budget presentation (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayor's Office)


    New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson are aggressively lobbying the state Legislature to authorize the City of New York to borrow billions of dollars from private financial markets by selling municipal bonds through the Transitional Finance Authority.

    Governor Andrew Cuomo also recently announced that if the federal government does not step up with stimulus money for New York, he is also open to borrowing money for our state.

    Unfortunately, most

    ...
  • Despite Requests, No Sign of De Blasio Plan for Managing Billions in City Borrowing He's Seeking

    requests despite mayor

    Mayor de Blasio (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio continues to insist that New York City needs authorization from the state to borrow billions of dollars in operating funds to balance its budget, at least in the absence of federal aid to cover some of the massive loss in revenue from the pandemic fallout. The drastically-slashed new city budget for this fiscal year passed July 1 included $1 billion in undefined labor savings, which de Blasio said could be covered by federal aid or borrowing, or, if neither of those come through,

    ...
  • How New York City Might Begin to Revive Its Decimated Tourism Industry

    experts revive tourism

    Visitors to the Statue of Liberty (photo: Spencer T Tucker/City Council)


    New York City’s tourism industry has a long road to recovery and a lot to learn from other cities like London, which has kick-started its economy through hyperlocal tourism, to come out of the coronavirus pandemic recession. During a virtual policy forum this week hosted by the Center for an Urban Future, top

    ...
  • Is It Really Layoffs or Loans? De Blasio's Other Options to Find $1 Billion

    presents fiscal yr

    Mayor de Blasio at a budget presentation (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio finds himself in a tricky fiscal situation as the city needs to find $1 billion by the end of the month to balance its budget. Federal aid is nowhere in sight, Albany has so far refused to allow the city to borrow the funds, and state budget cuts are also on the horizon. At the end of his rope, the mayor says he may have to lay off 22,000 municipal workers. But that nuclear option may not be necessary, and there are ways de Blasio could achieve the $1 billion goal

    ...
  • Where De Blasio's Push to Borrow Billions Stands

    1 billions push

    The Financial Control Board meets (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayor's Office)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio has until the end of September to present a state fiscal oversight body with a plan to find $1 billion in savings that will help balance the city budget for the current fiscal year. In lieu of a federal aid package to help replace lost tax revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic, the mayor and labor union leaders are pushing the Legislature and Governor Cuomo to allow the city to borrow billions of dollars to cover operating expenses, a proposal that many city and state

    ...
  • Save the NYC Urban Fellows Program, Prepare the Next Generation of Public Service Leadership

    mayor deliver remarks

    Mayor de Blasio at a ceremony (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    This is not the time to cancel the NYC Urban Fellows Program, as the de Blasio administration appears on the verge of doing. It is a time to inspire young people to work in government. We need more opportunities for young people to work in government, not fewer. It is misguided and short-sighted to cut a program that managed to survive the 1975 fiscal crisis, and every New York City budget crisis that has followed.

    The New York City Urban Fellowship is a very popular public service

    ...
  • The City Must Restore Mayor's Misguided Cuts to Essential Community Schools Program

    2 comm school

    Mayor de Blasio at a community schools celebration (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    As New York City prepares for a return to school, city leaders are once again turning to community-based organizations (CBOs) to play a central role in supporting the reopening of schools. This is understandable. CBO partnership has always been a pivotal cornerstone of success for our young people and families and it is again critical to the success of all of these reopening plans. But recent, deep financial cuts to the sector – and the potential for further cuts – makes this

    ...
  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Lessons for Today from New York City’s 1970s Fiscal Crisis

    31969304957 184e7f6bec c

    (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's office)


    August 26, 2020 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Lessons for Today from New York City’s 1970s Fiscal Crisis

    Author and history professor Kimberly Phillips-Fein, who teaches at NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, joined the show to discuss how New York City can take lessons from the 1970s fiscal crisis to help maneuver through its current budget woes.  

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think -- we're on Twitter ...

  • Mayor Must Bridge Budget Gap Without Borrowing or Mass Layoffs

    exec blr

    (photo: Edwin J. Torres/ Mayoral Photo Office)


    Despite a full-court press from cities and states across the country, Congress left for August recess without passing joint legislation to provide them with federal financial assistance. This aid is desperately needed by localities, both red and blue, that have suffered dramatic revenue losses due to the shutdown of much of their economies during the pandemic. There is still hope that some amount of aid will eventually be forthcoming, but not in time or in sufficient amount to address the dire needs of New York City and State.

    While

    ...
  • Providers, Participants Scramble for Scaled Down Summer Youth Employment Program

    melissa life camp

    Mayor de Blasio with local activists (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    Every morning, Joaquin Soto wakes up to participate in Summer Bridge, New York City government’s 2020 summer youth employment program. Instead of commuting to a work site, Soto turns on his computer, attends Zoom meetings, watches videos on professional development, and takes quizzes to show what he’s learned.

    “The application was really straightforward and very accessible,” said Soto, a 17-year-old from Cypress Hills. “But I feel like there’s definitely been some kind of trouble for

    ...