Mayor Eric Adams’ move is again in question, after he asked city agencies on Tuesday to cut their budget by another 4% for 2024 and future years.
It’s about less money for police, fire, public transportation, vehicle safety, sanitation, and many others that especially low-income communities depend on.
“The police cut if here on the corner right now I don’t know what will happen to me behind,” said Aurora Morán, a resident of Washington Heights.
Morán says he is specifically concerned about street cleanliness in his Washington Heights neighborhood. He finds Adams’s war on rats, for example, contradictory, and taking resources away from garbage collectors.
“It is true (that) in Washington Heights we are casually full of rats. How is he going to make that cut to public offices if he is included there,” Morán said.
The latest round of cuts came Tuesday after the City Council rejected the mayor’s nearly $103 billion budget because it fails to invest in key programs for the most vulnerable New Yorkers.
As if that were not enough, the city council has justified the request by saying that part of the blame lies with the new immigrants who have arrived in the city.. In them, according to Adams, more than 800 million dollars has been spent. Activists see it as a low-key “scapegoat” attempt.
“$800 million could have gone a long way toward developing permanent housing solutions for all homeless New Yorkers. Instead of the current waste, antics, and political theater the Adams administration has chosen,” said Ariadna Phillips, Mutual Aid Collective organizer.
In cuts there are two exceptions. the Department of Education and CUNY, which will be subject to 3%.
Paradoxically, the heads of the agencies have been instructed to avoid layoffs and avoid the impact on services whenever possible.
Adams says he has no funds but a report reveals that in fines from traffic cameras, parking, in trials and administrative hearings, and real estate charges, debtors have paid no more than $2 billion in cash.
Critics say the city should collect before cutting services.
“It is frankly unacceptable that the mayor’s pockets are full of money and yet Adams continues to demand that the city reduce social programs to a minimum,” added Philips.
The uncertainty in Albany is because the city is estimated to face a budget deficit of more than $6 billion by 2027.
