City Council Releases Preliminary Budget Response

By Forum Staff

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Finance Committee Chair Justin Brannan, Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala, and councilmembers unveiled the Council’s Fiscal Year 2025 Preliminary Budget Response that proposes a balanced and responsible budget to provide stability for the city. The response identifies $6.15 billion in newly available resources through Fiscal Year 2025 to help reverse recent budget decisions that have been destabilizing, address underbudgeting in the Mayor’s Preliminary Budget, account for expiring federal stimulus funds, and strengthen the city’s budget reserves and surplus.

The response calls for investment in specific programs and priorities that will help ensure that the city continues to support all New Yorkers. These include:

• Laying a Strong Foundation of Housing for New Yorkers and Families – $1.32 Billion in Capital Funding and $56.7 Million in Expense Funding
• Prioritizing Continued Access to Education and Learning – $483.1 Million in Capital Funding and $860 Million in Expense Funding
• Advancing A Healthy and Safe City – $4.2 Million in Capital Funding and $125.8 Million in Expense Funding
• Enhancing Institutional Pillars of NYC – $200 Million in Capital Funding and $222.7 Million in Expense Funding
• Strengthening Opportunity and Services – $451.5 Million in Capital Funding and $361.7 Million in Expense Funding

Laying a Strong Foundation of Housing for New Yorkers and Families – Capital Funding: $1.32 Billion and Expense Funding: $56.7 Million

• Investing in Affordable Housing – The Council calls upon the Administration to increase capital spending on affordable housing by $3.66 billion over the next five years, including a $732 million annual increase in capital funding for affordable housing and homeownership.
• Prioritizing Maintenance Repairs for NYCHA – The Council also urges the Administration to increase capital commitments for NYCHA by $584 million in FY25 to address critical maintenance repairs.

Prioritizing Continued Access to Education and Learning – Capital Funding: $483.1 Million and Expense Funding: $860 Million

• Replacing Expiring Federal Stimulus Funds – The Council calls for approximately $550 million in city funding to replace expiring federal COVID stimulus funds that have supported vital school and student support programs, like community schools, pre-school special education, restorative justice, mental health services, and support for students living in temporary housing.
• Supporting Early Childhood Education – The Council calls for $361 million for early childhood education, including $170 million to restore cuts to 3-K, $96 million to replace expiring federal stimulus funds for preschool special education, $60 million to provide additional extended day, extended year seats, $25 million for Promise NYC, and $10 million in new funding for 3-K marketing and outreach.
• Restoring School Food Programs– The Council calls for an additional $60 million for the school food program, including $17 million to restore cafeteria staff headcounts to pre-pandemic levels and at least $3 million to fund nutrition committees in schools.
• Placing a Certified Arts Teacher in Every School – The Council calls on the Administration to enhance and baseline the budget for arts education by $38 million, which would allow for a certified arts teacher to be placed in every remaining school that currently does not have one.
• Supporting Learning to Work – The Council calls for $33 million in funding to support the Learning to Work program and continue reengaging older youth in completing their high school education and matching them with workforce opportunities.
• Restoring CUNY Funding – The Council calls on the Administration to restore $40 million in cuts to CUNY’s budget that were initiated in the Mayor’s November and Preliminary Plans. The Council also calls for over $25 million in restorations and enhancements to several CUNY related programs, like CUNY Reconnect, ACE and ASAP.

Advancing a Healthy and Safe City – Capital Funding: $4.2 Million and Expense Funding: $125.8 Million

• Restoring and Enhancing Recidivism Reduction Programs – The Council calls on the Administration to reverse cuts to the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) by restoring $27.8 million in Fiscal 2025 for Alternatives to Incarceration ($6.7M), supervised release ($13M) and re-entry ($8M) programming that is essential to public safety and reducing recidivism. Additionally, the Council calls on the Administration to provide nearly $9M in additional funding for mental health courts and diversion programs for District Attorneys, along with an additional $7 million to increase the Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) team budget by nearly 50 percent.
• Investing in Housing for Justice Involved Individuals – The Council calls on the Administration to allocate an additional $6.4 million for Justice Involved Supportive Housing to fulfill the City’s previous commitment to provide 500 supportive housing units for individuals leaving Rikers.
• Expanding Victim Services – The Council calls for a baselined $7.2 million to triple the current funding for trauma recovery centers that support underserved victims of crime and help stop cycles of violence. The Council also urges the Administration to increase baseline funding for housing stability microgrants for domestic violence impacted individuals with an additional $4.8 million, bringing the baseline funding up to $6 million starting in Fiscal 2025.
• Investing in Postpartum Care Services – The Council calls on the Administration to allocate $5 million to each H+H hospital for a maternal health-focused psychologist, an additional $5 million in the Nurse Family Partnership program, and $500,000 in the Fiscal 2025 Budget to enhance the Maternal and Child Health Services initiative and increase the scope of services.

Enhancing Institutional Pillars of NYC – Capital Funding: $200 Million and Expense Funding: $222.7 Million

• Restoring and Baselining Cultural Funding – The Council calls $55.5 million to restore and baseline the $40 million allocated in FY24 for the Department of Cultural Affairs and restore the $15.5M that was cut in the November and January PEGs.
• Restoring Funding and Baselining Library Funding – The Council proposes to restore 7-day service at the city’s library systems by allocating an additional $58.3 million which would cover the $22.1 million November cut to their budgets, FY24’s one-time funding of $20.5 million and the Council’s discretionary funding subsidy of $15.7 million.
• Restoring the Parks Dept. Headcount and Services – As part of the November and Preliminary Plan PEGs, several critical Parks Department neighborhood services were reduced alongside their budgeted headcount. The Council calls for $59.7 million to fully restore these cuts and provide additional programming to advance the health and safety of New Yorkers, such as access to swim lessons and programs.
• Restoring Sanitation and Community Composting Cuts – The Council calls on the Administration to provide baseline funding of $22 million annually to maintain the same level of litter basket service in each district throughout the five boroughs. Additionally, the Council urges the Administration to support community composting by fully restoring and baselining $7.1 million for these programs and extending GrowNYC’s contract.

Strengthening Opportunity and Services – Capital Funding: $451.5 Million and Expense Funding: $361.7 Million

• Restoring Funding for Shelter and Services for Homeless Youth – The Council calls for the Administration to fully restore and baseline $36.2 million to reinstate homeless shelter providers’ contract levels from cuts in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget. Additionally, the City should invest in restoring and enhancing services for runaway and homeless youth with an investment of more than $14 million for housing and peer navigators, as well as shelter beds.
• Supporting Older Adult Services – The Council calls on the Administration to restore the nearly $16 million in PEGs for older adult centers. Additionally, the Council’s Response invests in increasing the baseline funding by $12.7 million annually for home delivered meals.
• Restoring and Investing in IDNYC and Language Access Services – The Council calls on the City to restore the PEG savings for the IDNYC program that were included in the Fiscal 2023 Executive Plan for the IDNYC program, which totaled $3.4 million in Fiscal 2025 and $5.1 million in Fiscal 2026 and in the outyears. Additionally, the Council urges the Administration to restore and baseline $8.7 million for language services, starting in Fiscal 2025, and expanding these services. And the Council calls on the Administration to restore funding and allocate an additional $50 million for immigration legal services to enhance the program to meet the growing needs for these services.
• Investing in Services for Low-Income New Yorkers – The Council calls for an additional $54.2 million to expand eligibility for Fair Fares to City residents with incomes up to 200 percent of FPL to provide affordable transit for more low-income individuals. Additionally, the Council urges the Administration to provide $5 million in new funding to support anti-poverty guaranteed income programs, and an additional $10 million to restore and baseline DYCD-funded adult literacy programs in Fiscal Year 2025.