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In plea to Albany lawmakers, Adams pushes back on MTA funding, asks for more migrant help
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Feb 15, 2023
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Luiz Rampelotto/Europa Newswire/Shutterstock
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Feb 15, 2023
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Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday traveled up to Albany to address an age-old political argument between Albany and New York City: Who should help fund the city’s sprawling transit system of subways and buses?
For Adams, how state lawmakers interpret the answer will determine whether the city is forced to pay $500 million annually to help the MTA, a state-run agency that is facing large deficits in the coming years resulting from lower ridership during the pandemic.
“We all want what's best for riders, but we need a fairer and more sustainable proposal,” Adams said during his two-hour budget testimony. “This current proposal hits New Yorkers twice, once through the higher fares that riders will still face and once through diminished service delivery by local government.”
Adams' forceful protest came during the so-called “Tin Cup Day,” when mayors across New York make an annual pilgrimage to Albany to plead with state lawmakers for funding and other aid.
Adams has been sensitive about how his relationship with Albany has been perceived after complaints last year that he failed to do enough outreach.
"I had a banner year in Albany,” he told reporters after the hearing. “We don't have to change our approach. You've got to change your reporting."
Nevertheless, Adams’ stance on the state budget represents a rare split with Gov. Kathy Hochul, a strong ally who is calling for the city to provide the MTA with additional funding.
New York City currently provides the MTA with around $2 billion annually in “direct and in-kind” contributions, according to city officials.
In another potentially serious source of contention, Adams is also asking the state to contribute more money to the city's ongoing migrant crisis. Adams estimated the cost of providing shelter and services at more than $4 billion over the next two years. Hochul is proposing to give the city roughly $1 billion over the next two years, along with a plan to divide the future costs equally among the city, state and federal government.
“We believe this is a statewide responsibility as well as the city and we have fulfilled our responsibility for the last few months and it has been an unbelievable strain on basic services,” Adams said.
But city officials argue that the Republican-controlled House of Representatives makes it unlikely that New York City will receive significant migrant aid from the federal government.
So far, New York City has received $8 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to Adams.
Congress passed another $800 million in funding to aid cities serving migrants, but New York City is expected to receive only a portion of that pot.
Unlike last year’s hearing, when Adams’ push to tighten some of the state’s bail laws rankled several progressive lawmakers, Wednesday’s proceedings featured no real fireworks, with state lawmakers appearing to be generally sympathetic to the mayor’s fiscal concerns.
“Is New York City the Federal Reserve Bank that we have all of the money that we actually need?” asked Sen. Robert Jackson, a Democrat who represents parts of northern Manhattan and the Bronx.
Jackson objected to the state’s proposal to have localities pay more to fund Medicaid, a plan Adams said he opposes as well.
The typical battery of questions was also cut short on Wednesday. Adams was expected to sit for at least three hours of questions during the hearing. But state senators began exiting the room en masse just before noon after they were alerted they would be voting on Hochul's nomination for chief judge, Hector LaSalle. That left fewer people to ask questions, allowing Adams to wrap up early.
But those present expressed a willingness to fight the governor on a range of issues that affect the city’s more than $100 billion annual budget.
Hochul’s plan to lift the charter school cap could cost the city an additional $1 billion through having to find sites for the schools and cover the required per-student tuition costs, Adams said.
Adams was careful to say that he was not opposed to charter schools (during his mayoral run, Adams secured support from the charter school lobby), but he received plenty of support from Democrats who oppose their expansion.
In one of the hearing’s disagreements, the mayor complained that the state has not provided sufficient funding for the city to implement a law that would force it to shrink class sizes in the coming years.
Sen. John Liu, a Democrat from Queens who helped push the bill, was among those who pointed out that the state increased its education funding last year by an additional $600 million and committed to future support.
“By year five, Mr. Mayor, you will have far more than the $1.3 billion necessary to provide a sound basic education, which means that classes cannot be excessively large,” Liu said.
Jon Campbell contributed reporting.
Tagged
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eric adams
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Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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