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Dear John,

Tuesday, I proudly voted yes on New York City's FY27 budget.

For too long, New Yorkers have been told we couldn't afford the investments our communities need. But austerity was always a political choice.

As a democratic socialist, I believe government should meet people's needs. Thanks to the leadership of democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, this budget rejects austerity and shows what is possible when we choose to invest in people, care, and public goods.

This budget delivers real victories for New Yorkers:

• Fair Fares is expanded and baselined, with $25 million in permanent funding, making more than 340,000 additional New Yorkers eligible for half-price subway and bus fares.

• A historic $300 million CityFHEPS agreement expands housing vouchers, helps thousands of New Yorkers remain in their homes, supports disabled New Yorkers who rely on rental assistance to live independently, and ends the administration's lawsuit against the Council.

• Library funding is restored and baselined, including $34.7 million in permanent funding to support operations and seven-day service.

• Promise NYC is baselined with $25 million in permanent funding, ensuring undocumented and newly arrived immigrant families can continue accessing childcare.

• Investments in supportive housing and permanent funding for Crisis to Care strengthen alternatives to policing through mental health responders, crisis respite centers, and peer specialists.

• NYC Parks funding baselined, with $14.4 million in permanent funding to support GreenThumb community gardens, tree stump removal, 100 Parks Enforcement Patrol officers, and additional staffing. 

• $78.4 million for immigration legal services and rapid response funds to protect local communities from Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

• $26 million for the Office to Prevent Hate Crimes expands efforts to prevent hate violence and support impacted communities. 

• $17.9 million will fund 181 new staff positions at the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, strengthening enforcement of worker rights and consumer protections 

• $13.725 million in new funds for gender-affirming care, LGBTQ youth housing, and employment programming

• $1.6 million in baselined funding for the NYC Commission on Human Rights strengthens the City's capacity to investigate discrimination and enforce civil rights protections. 

• $1.5 million for animal welfare will support pet food pantries and low-cost spay and neuter programs.

• $800,000 for CUNY Disability Services will help better support students with disabilities.

• No increase in NYPD headcount, an outcome I strongly advocated for during budget negotiations so we could prioritize investments in housing, care, and affordability instead.

I also want to thank Speaker Julie Menin, the Council's Budget Negotiating Team, and advocates, organizers, and community members whose advocacy helped make these victories possible. 

What does "baselined" mean?

When funding is baselined, it becomes a permanent part of the City's budget rather than something that must be renegotiated every year. That provides greater stability for programs and protects them from future cuts. It also allows us to spend future budget cycles expanding successful programs rather than fighting to preserve them. 

Our work is not finished.

This budget delivers meaningful progress, but there is still more work to do.

As Chair of the Committee on Disabilities and Accessibility, I am disappointed that the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities did not receive the additional funding needed to better serve disabled New Yorkers. I will continue fighting to fully fund the disability justice arm of our city government.

We also failed to make the investments necessary to bring more vacant NYCHA apartments back online. Thousands of New Yorkers remain in need of stable, affordable housing while vacant apartments sit offline. I will continue advocating for the resources needed to repair those units and return them to families faster.

While I celebrate this budget, New Yorkers deserve even more.

And we can have it. We need to tax the rich.

These victories won despite operating within an artificially constrained budget. New York is not broke. The wealth is here. By making the wealthiest New Yorkers and the largest corporations pay their fair share, we can fully fund the housing, transit, schools, healthcare, disability services, and public goods our communities deserve.

That is the fight ahead. 

I look forward to working with my colleagues across the Council, alongside the Progressive Caucus and my socialist colleagues, to continue building a city that puts people before profits and guarantees every New Yorker the dignity, stability, and care they deserve.

In the coming days, I'll share a closer look at the funding our office secured for District 39, including investments in local parks, schools, arts organizations, community nonprofits, and neighborhood improvements that will directly benefit our communities.

In solidarity,

Council Member Shahana Hanif