NYC Mayor Eric Adams testifies in Albany for support in state's 2025 budget
NEW YORK -- New York City Mayor Eric Adams is testifying about the state's 2025 executive budget Tuesday in Albany.
Local governments had the day to appeal directly to the State Senate Committee for certain funding to be included in the budget.
"Making the city more livable means investing in cleaner streets, more vibrant public spaces. To continue this investment, we need financial support to cover cost of the asylum seeker humanitarian crisis," Adams said. "These are urgent needs that support working class families in New York City, and our administration is asking for your help once again."
Adams also made the case for lawmakers to extend mayoral control of New York City schools.
Parents and the teachers' union are pushing lawmakers for changes that allow more outside input.
The mayor on Tuesday defended a string of successes under his leadership, including improved reading and math scores and a higher graduation rate.
"So why take that away from the success that we're having? We can't go backwards. Too much is at stake. We can't go back to 50% graduation rates. We have 80% graduation rates, and we are moving even better," Adams said.
The mayor wants a four-year extension. Lawmakers questioned whether it should only be two years since his term is up in 2025.