Investments Include Protecting Key Education and Child Care Programs, Doubling Down on Public Safety Measures to Continue Crime Reductions, Supporting Thousands of Cultural Institutions, and Putting Money in Pockets of Working-Class New Yorkers
Our Bureau
New York, NY
New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday released the City of New York’s balanced $111.6 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Executive Budget. Mayor Adams’ budget builds on the administration’s actions, since last fall, to stabilize the city’s fiscal outlook, and has positioned the city to backfill long-term programs that had only been funded with temporary stimulus funds while making the investments that double down on the city’s efforts to strengthen public safety, rebuild the economy, and make the city more livable. These investments will specifically add more police officers to city streets and subways, protect educational programs with city and recurring state funds and increase access to early childhood education, provide support for thousands of cultural institutions, and boost programs that improve the quality of life for working-class New Yorkers. By virtue of Mayor Adams’ strong fiscal management and better-than-expected revenue, the Adams administration balanced the budget, stabilized the city’s fiscal position and outlook, and prevented major service cuts, tax hikes, or layoffs.
FY24 and FY25 remain balanced, with out-year gaps of $5.5 billion, $5.5 billion, and $5.7 billion in Fiscal Years 2026 through 2028, respectively. Growth of $2.2 billion in FY25 over the Preliminary Budget is driven by stronger than expected economic activity in FY24 and an improved outlook in FY25.
“When we came into office two years ago, during the height of another wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, we were determined to protect public safety, rebuild our economy, and make our city more livable for working-class New Yorkers,” said Mayor Adams. “We have made great strides in these commitments, and today, crime is down, jobs are up, our streets are cleaners, we’re taking on major quality of life issues, and we have financed the most newly constructed affordable housing in a single year in our city’s history. Thanks to our strong fiscal management, we are able to invest in the things that matter to New Yorkers in this Fiscal Year 2025 Executive Budget, including public safety, early childhood education, and the needs of working-class people. As New York City moves toward the future, our core values will continue to guide us as we continue to build a safer, more equitable, and more prosperous city for all New Yorkers.”
On the heels of the pandemic, New York City had to confront substantial challenges, filling holes left where long-term programs were funded with temporary stimulus dollars, and the costs of funding fair labor deals that went years unresolved with city employees. While there are still reasons to remain cautious — like slowing revenue growth in coming fiscal years — by making smart decisions in the November and January plans — like monitoring spending and trimming agency and asylum seeker budgets — as well as better-than-expected revenue, the administration has balanced the budget and steadied the city’s fiscal position.
Additionally, tax revenue has been revised up by $619 million in FY24 and $1.7 billion in FY25 compared with the Preliminary Budget due to better than anticipated economic performance in 2023 and an improved economic outlook in 2024. These additional revenues were used to help remain balanced in FY24 and FY25. However, tax revenue growth is expected to cool in upcoming fiscal years as the local economy slows, bolstering the fact that the city cannot rely exclusively on revenue growth to resolve fiscal challenges.
The FY25 Executive Budget enhances safety and doubles down on the Adams administration’s efforts to continue to bring down crime by adding two more police classes this year and putting 1,200 additional police officers on the streets by adding July and October New York City Police Department (NYPD) classes. Now, all police academy classes will be fully funded in 2024. This adds 2,400 new police officers to city streets in the coming year and puts New York City on the path to having a total of 35,000 uniformed officers protecting New Yorkers in the coming years.
The Adams administration’s strong fiscal management, combined with a stronger than anticipated economic performance in 2023, helped put the city in a position to fund a number of stimulus-funded long-term programs that could be backfilled with city and state dollars. In the FY25 Executive Budget, Mayor Adams uses $514 million in city and recurring state funds to support key education programs that had been funded with expiring stimulus dollars, including mental health care, career readiness, and literacy programs for New York City public school students.
Mayor Adams is taking a critical step toward making the city cleaner and greener over generations to come in his FY25 Executive Budget.
