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De Blasio Reveals Budget For 2017, Vows To Fight Cuomo "By Any Means Necessary"
By
Miranda Katz
Published Jan 22, 2016
Modified Jan 22, 2016
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By
Miranda Katz
Published Jan 22, 2016
Modified Jan 22, 2016
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Mayor de Blasio announced on Thursday the details of his $82.1 billion preliminary budget for 2017, taking a cautious approach by keeping nearly $5 billion unspent and warning about the possibility of an imminent economic downturn.
With the impact of the previous recession in mind, de Blasio argued for keeping the bulk of the surplus in reserve, to prevent the city from being hobbled by a future recession.
“We’re concerned what would happen if the economic storm clouds we see nationally and globally led to an economic downturn, and we need to be very cognizant of that danger,” the mayor said, later adding, "We’re well past the average point where a recovery turns back to a recession. That alone should concern us."
Part of the de Blasio's motivation for keeping so much cash on hand is a lack of faith in the state to come through should the economy worsen. When asked whether, given the size of the city's savings, he thought the state would be less receptive to concerns about cuts to CUNY and New York City Medicaid that Governor Cuomo recently announced, de Blasio said, "This budget is built to protect against a downturn, because in a downturn we will be on our own."
But the mayor has not accounted for those cuts in the 2017 budget. Yesterday de Blasio pointed out that Cuomo walked back that initial proposal, telling NY1 that he merely wants to "reduce the cost of bureaucracy at CUNY" and lower administrative costs for Medicaid.
"The governor, it’s obviously been well reported, said these proposals will not cost the city a penny, and I will certainly hold him to that," de Blasio said. When pressed during the Q&A, he added, "We will fight them by any means necessary."
In comparison to the governor's budget proposal, which included lots of flashy infrastructure proposals for which he has yet to identify funding, the mayor's budget is relatively tame—so tame, the Times called it "willfully boring." It includes money for a $15 minimum wage for city employees and contract social services workers; $868 million towards adding 11,800 seats to the city's public schools; and $128 million towards hiring more than 300 traffic agents and installing 100 bus lane cameras as part of his Vision Zero initiative. Here's a breakdown of the other major expenditures:
More money towards combating homelessness, with additional FY17 investments of $8 million for a Shelter Repair Squad 2.0; $12.3 million to move New Yorkers out of three quarter housing to permanent homes; $4 million for Homebase Prevention to double the number of single adults at risk of homelessness getting assistance to stay in their homes; $16.9 million for adult shelter programming to help over 10,000 clients find employment; and $12.5 million to operate the first of 15,000 new supportive housing units.
A total of $62 million in FY17 for the mental health initiative ThriveNYC, which includes the NYC Mental Health Corps and Mental Health First Aid training.
$17.4 million in FY17 toward NYC Safe—to treat the mentally ill who may pose a threat to public safety.
An expansion of the gunshot-detection equipment ShotSpotter, more than doubling the coverage area and including precincts in all five boroughs, through an additional $3 million a year.
Continued investment in the Department of Correction’s 14-Point Anti-Violence Plan for Rikers ($41.3 million in FY17) and training, technology, and increased staffing ($58.3 million in FY17).
Expanded FDNY ambulance tours in Manhattan and Queens, and a program in the Bronx to improve response times, with $5.4 million in FY17.
A focus on security in City parks, through 67 new Parks Enforcement Patrol officers and 50 seasonal staff, with $5.3 million in FY17.
A new Staten Island ferry boat for $47 million, the latest of three meant to replace the oldest in the fleet.
More than tripling the number of households with curbside composting, bringing the total to approximately 607,000, with $7.5 million in FY16. Mayor de Blasio’s OneNYC plan committed the City to expanding composting options to all New Yorkers by the end of 2018.
$76.7 million in FY17 for Algebra for All, AP for All, college visits, district-charter learning partnerships, Single Shepherd dedicated graduation and college counseling, and Universal Second Grade Literacy.
$159 million in FY17 towards education in historically-underfunded districts.
$23 million a year in total funds in FY17 for AIDS prevention and healthcare with a goal of enabling 200,000 people per year to receive services.
An additional $1.5 million toward preventing elder abuse, earmarked for establishing teams that will address complex cases citywide.
$700,000 for a new synthetic marijuana task force.
The overall budget is up $4.4 billion from last year. It will go into effect this summer, but first it has to go through the City Council. The Council recently urged de Blasio to set even more money aside, noting that the city is now projected to spend $11 billion more annually than when Bloomberg left office by 2018.
Tagged
budget
Cuomo
mayor de blasio
Miranda Katz
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