NEW YORK (PIX11) — Mayor Eric Adams said he will maintain vital services even while asking many New York City agencies make tough choices and leave positions vacant.
The mayor did walk back some of the toughest cuts his administration was considering, including millions that was on the chopping block for libraries.
But some cuts to libraries remain on the table, which may lead to reduced weekend service. The belt tightening impacts every city agency, the mayor insists from the FDNY, to NYPD, to Parks, to Schools.
The mayor said all of city government must become more efficient, which includes not returning to the high staffing levels we saw before the pandemic.
Parents PIX11 News spoke with during school pick up Wednesday were skeptical — after the cuts they have already seen.
“They used to have woodworking, they used to have home economics, music, art dance, things that they can occupy their time,” Parent Terry Greene lamented.
Advocacy groups too expressed their frustration.
Make the Road New York, which advocates for working class folks, especially people of color and immigrants, said the mayor cannot blame asylum seekers for blowing a huge hole in the budget, without boosting support for education and health care.
“Right now we do believe there is enough money to take care of the folks who have been living here, and the folks who are arriving,” said Natalia Aristizabal with Make the Road New York.
In a poignant moment Wednesday, the mayor also made a full-throated defense of police overtime.
Activists often cite this as a place of potential savings for the city. The number was about a half billion dollars, about a third of all overtime citywide.
Adams insists all departments have overtime, and zeroing in on police specifically is anti-cop.
