Mayor Adams, NYC Council reach budget deal expanding child care, library service, more
Despite the busy political season, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who is also running for mayor, managed to cobble together a budget agreement for the fiscal year that begins Tuesday.
The agreement adds money for a number of top priorities:
- $10 million so that hundreds of low-income families get a new child care program called "2-K," which would save them thousands in child care costs annually
- $2 million to expand 7-day library service at 10 additional branches citywide
- $12.5 million to provide pro bono attorneys to help unaccompanied minor immigrants in removal proceedings
- $41.9 million in free legal assistance for immigrants facing deportation, and also assistance in obtaining immigration benefits
- $6 million for sustainable delivery service which will regulate e-bikes
"A highlight that I will preview here is our pilot program for 2-K and under. That means even more affordable child care for more families. This pilot program is a breakthrough for our city and for our working class New Yorkers," Adams said. "The program brings us one major step closer to making our city more affordable for working class New Yorkers."
"This program will be the first American city to provide universal child care for new parents, the first," Adams added.
Adams said the budget "keeps our city on a path to 35,000 uniformed officers by fall of 2026 so that we can make sure that New York City remains the safest big city in America."
The budget also includes hiring up to 3,700 new teachers to reduce class sizes, Adams said.
The budget also eliminates personal income taxes for certain qualifying low-income New Yorkers, Adams said.
During the pandemic, public libraries started closing Sundays due to budget cuts. Adams had blamed those cuts on federal COVID aid ending and the cost of the migrant crisis. Further cuts had been feared but ultimately didn't come to pass.
