Photo Courtesy of Edwin Torres/Mayoral Photography Office
“We cannot respond to threats of funding cuts by pulling back on our own investments or values,” Mayor de Blasio said regarding the 2018 Executive Budget.
By Forum Staff
Mayor Bill de Blasio recently detailed the City’s Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2018, a balanced plan totaling $84.86 billion that, according to the administration, makes targeted new investments in education, public safety and affordability.
De Blasio also noted that Washington has had an effect on the city budget, characterizing the capital’s fiscal climate as “plagued with uncertainty” and “threatening funding cuts.”
“In the face of continued uncertainty, it is more important than ever that cities make smart, targeted investments aimed at improving people’s lives,” the mayor said. “We cannot respond to threats of funding cuts by pulling back on our own investments or values. Instead, we must continue to make this city a place where everyone can have a chance to succeed. It is our duty to continue building a New York City that is stronger and fairer than it’s ever been before.”
Highlights of the FY2018 Executive Budget include:
• Instituting free, full-day, high-quality 3-K for All for every three-year-old in the city through a $36 million investment in FY18 and ramping up to $177 million in FY21.
• Ensuring all students can learn in a safe and comfortable environment by installing air conditioning in every classroom at a cost of $28.75 million over five years.
• Providing anti-eviction legal services to low-income families and legal advice to all NYC residents in housing court for $93 million annually at full implementation.
• Contributing $38 million in FY18 to invest in our effort to reduce opioid overdose deaths by 35 percent over the next five years
• Bringing lower-level boarding to the St. George Ferry Terminal during the morning rush at a cost of $775,000 in FY18, and more annually through the four year plan.
• Help keep all our students safe by reimbursing private schools’ security costs, totaling $19.8 million in FY18.
• Expanding our investment in the ShotSpotter Gunshot Detection system– a proven tool in driving down crime – in the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island by investing $720,000 in FY18, and $675,000 annually in FY19 and out.
• Supporting legislation that will allow more senior and disabled New Yorkers to qualify for property tax relief (SCHE/DHE), budgeting $61.6 million in FY18.
• Making housing more affordable by investing $1.9 billion to increase or preserve the number of affordable apartments by 10,000 for households earning up to $40,000 annually, including 5,000 units for seniors and 500 for veterans.
• Expanding services offered by the Department of Veterans’ Services to better reach our veterans at an annual cost of $859,000.
• Renovating 30 existing homeless shelters with $300 million in capital funding as part of the Mayor’s commitment to address homelessness.
• Transforming the “Made in NY” campus at Bush Terminal in Brooklyn into a hub for garment manufacturing and film and television production that will support more than 1,500 permanent jobs at a cost of $136 million capital dollars over FY18-FY27.
• Launching a STEAM career hub to connect 400 high school students with technical training with an additional $7.5 million in capital funds invested in FY18.
• Rehabilitating a building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard to become a start-up incubator, ultimately creating 500 jobs with $4 million in capital funding.
• Purchasing sidewalk cleaning trucks that can typically clean a heavily trafficked sidewalk area in a single pass for $1.8 million in capital funds to further the mayor’s CleaNYC efforts.
• Including $16.4 million in FY18 to fund legal representation for immigrant New Yorkers facing deportation and other immigration challenges.
• Investing $100 million towards completion of a contiguous 32-mile pedestrian promenade and bike path around the whole of Manhattan.
