Dear New Yorkers, 

Every budget is a reflection of our values. And with budget season well underway, it's clear that New York City need a more thoughtful, long-term approach to our budget that preserves essential services and invests in shared thriving. 

Concerningly, Mayor Adams’ Executive Budget for next year cuts several essential services that New Yorkers rely on every day. These cuts are short-sighted. 

Here are five critical programs facing cuts in New York City’s proposed budget. Click to watch and share my explainer video, or keep reading on.

1. Senior Meals

We shouldn’t cut meals for seniors by $12 million, especially not when the need has tripled in recent years. Come on! Many of the seniors who rely on these programs are homebound or living with disabilities. We need to take care of our most vulnerable, not leave them wondering when their next meal will be.  

2. CUNY 

CUNY faces $41 million in cuts next year, despite already seeing a $155 million budget reduction that caused them to have to lay off faculty. CUNY educates a third of our public school teachers and half of New York City’s new nurses. We've got to invest in the next generation. 

3. Supportive housing  

The Mayor proposes to cut $20 million from supportive housing rental assistance programs over the next four years. Yet right now only one in five New Yorkers who need supportive housing can actually get it. In the wake of Jordan Neely’s tragic killing, this cut is both unnecessary and short-sighted.  

4. Public libraries 

While our public libraries were spared from the latest Program to Eliminate the Gap (PEG) cuts this year, they still face $21 million in cuts from earlier PEGs. For our communities, that means fewer service hours, fewer programs. Our libraries are a place where our kids go to learn to read, and where new immigrants learn English, where people find jobs. We can’t cut them.  

5. Reentry services 

This budget proposes to cut $17 million out of reentry and support services for folks coming out of Rikers and back into their communities. These services help people find jobs, housing, drug treatment, health care. Cutting those services is cruel to them, and also a public safety risk. 

You can learn more about these cuts and their impact on everyday New Yorkers in my budget explainer video. Will you watch and share today?

Look, we do need a long-term savings program for New York City’s budget. We can save on claims against the city on overtime, on strategic attrition. And we should consider asking the top 1% of New Yorkers to pay a little more to fund programs and services that serve all our communities. 

But the bottom line? We can have a stable budget that is balanced without cutting core and essential services that New Yorkers rely on. 

In solidarity, 

Brad 

P.S. Want to dive deeper on the budget numbers? You can read my office’s entire analysis of the proposed Executive Budget here.