Mayor Eric Adams tells Gov. Kathy Hochul that New York City needs more money or budget cuts will ensue
NEW YORK -- Mayor Eric Adams went to Albany on Wednesday with a simple message for Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers: New York City needs more money ... or else.
Adams intimated that without help serious budget cuts to critical city agencies could follow.
They call it "Tin Cup Day" in the state capital for a reason. It's the day when mayors and officials from all over New York come begging for more funds.
Adams' tale of fiscal woe was so intense that despite his flashy vested suit, he might have been the homeless guy with the crumpled paper cup pleading for cash, saying hey brothers and sisters, can you spare a few billion? The mayor is pushing back against a series of proposals in the governor's budget that "will force us to make difficult choices in regard to the city budget and the services that we provide," Adams said.
The mayor said that possible cuts to essential services were not a threat, just math.
There is no money, for example, to shell out over $1 billion to raise the charter school cap, to spend $1.3 billion to reduce class size, to find an estimated $4 billion for the flood of asylum seekers when the state and federal governments are wiling to chip in $1.2 billion. There is also no money to contribute $343 million more for Medicaid, $84 million to raise the salaries of lawyers who represent the poor, and to give the MTA and additional $526 million every year on top of the $2.4 billion New York City already gives the agency.
The mayor insisted the state should pick up the tab for the MTA because, "New York City is the only locality that has been asked to increase its contribution and by hundreds of millions of dollars."
Adams also told lawmakers he would support an effort to create space in the school calendar for a day off to celebrate the holiday of Diwali. It would require the elimination of something called "Brooklyn-Queens Day," which is a teacher professional development day.
"It matters to the Indian, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and Jain religious communities, and I'm told there are over 200,000 New Yorkers that participate in religions that participate with Diwali," state Sen. Liz Kreuger said.
A spokesperson for the teachers union did not comment directly on the loss of the teacher development day, saying, "We want all our students to feel that their traditions and cultures are recognized."