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‘This may go on for years': NYC could see even more cuts, top budget director warns
By
Giulia Heyward
Published May 23, 2023
Modified May 24, 2023
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Lev Radin/Pacific Press/Shutterstock
By
Giulia Heyward
Published May 23, 2023
Modified May 24, 2023
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New Yorkers may see an even greater drop in services in the near future if the city doesn’t receive more help from the federal government. It’s the inevitable consequence of the city's ongoing migrant crisis, the mayor’s top budget official reiterated on Tuesday.
“Every New Yorker should be concerned about these escalating costs and the ramifications for potential service disruptions,” said Jacques Jiha, the mayor's budget director, at a budget hearing on Tuesday. “And the real possibility that this may go on for years.”
City councilmembers and staffers from the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget sparred over numbers and line items at the tense hearing, which was the result of months of escalating frustrations over the ongoing migrant crisis. Mayor Eric Adams is calling for budget cuts across city agencies to account for the billions of dollars he said the city will need to care for the growing number of migrant arrivals. His proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which takes effect in July, includes reduced funding for the city’s public libraries and home-delivered meals for seniors.
On average, 602 migrants have been arriving in New York City daily since August last year, and Jiha said more than 44,000 migrants are currently in the city's care. New York City is considered a sanctuary city, and more than 73,000 of these migrants have gone through its shelter system. The budget director added that the Adams administration is “moving heaven and earth to manage an ongoing influx of asylum-seekers.”
In addition to more funding, Jiha also said the federal government needs to grant migrants temporary protected status and work permits, and that more counties in the state should agree to house migrants in their communities.
Without this relief, the budget director said, the city “will have to make terrible cuts to programs and services. And this will cause great and unnecessary pain.”
The Council opposes these budget cuts, arguing that they are too severe and there’s actually more money in the pot to be spent. During the hearing, councilmembers scrutinized the budget office's predictions over the cost of sheltering migrants, as well as its reports of how many people are arriving at and leaving shelters. In a report it released on Monday, the Council previously said the city can expect an extra $1.8 billion in tax revenue over the next two years.
“The city’s budget should advance the health and safety of New Yorkers, but remaining cuts threaten to further inhibit our city’s ability to succeed and equitably recover while the administration continues to justify agency budget cuts as a result of the costs to assist asylum-seekers,” Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said at the hearing.
Councilmember Justin Brannan, who chairs the finance committee, referred to the city’s budget as “more than just an itemized list of expenditures – it’s a values document.”
“You can tell me what you care about all day long, but you prove it to me by showing me what you spend your money on,” Brannan said. “It’s about priorities. Our city’s budget is no different than yours or mine. And this is no different from the issues families across the city are talking about at their dining room table every night, as they try to make ends meet for another week in the most expensive city in the world.”
Correction: The story has been updated to correct Jacques Jiha's comments on the average number of migrants arriving to New York City. He said an average of 602 migrants have arrived daily since March of this year.
Tagged
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Politics
Asylum Seekers
budget
Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a breaking news reporter on the Day-Of desk. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or more securely on signal at 917-715-1458.
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