Mayor Adams orders billions in budget cuts, escalates calls for federal and state migrant aid

The mayor announced some of the city's steepest budget cuts in years on Saturday.

Just days after saying that the mounting costs of the migrant crisis “will destroy” New York City, Mayor Eric Adams ordered some of the city’s sharpest budget cuts in years that he said would only be averted with the help of federal and state aid.

In an announcement on Saturday, Adams said all city agencies will be forced to slash spending by 5% beginning in November, and are being asked to prepare for further cuts in January and April as part of the upcoming budget planning cycle. An internal email sent to city employees and obtained by Gothamist said that in total, the cuts could add up to 15%. Taken together, they will amount to billions of dollars in cuts that could affect a wide range of basic services, including schools as well as police, fire and sanitation services, according to the mayor’s office. The size of the city’s total budget is around $107 billion.

The cuts will not require layoffs and city agencies have been directed to minimize disruptions to services.

Nevertheless, Adams warned that many New Yorkers – including the city’s newest arrivals – would feel the pain. He said the city would also find ways to cut spending for services provided to migrants, which include shelter, food, health care and education.

“The simple truth is that longtime New Yorkers and asylum-seekers will feel these potential cuts,” the mayor said in a pre-recorded message. “And they will hurt.”

The abrupt announcement of the cuts amounts to a challenge to President Joe Biden and Gov. Kathy Hochul. In his remarks on Saturday, Adams blamed both the federal and state governments for failing to provide the city with sufficient aid and policy interventions to address the migrant influx.

“We can avoid these cuts if Washington and Albany do their part by paying their fair share,” Adams said.

More than 110,000 migrants have arrived in New York City over the last year, bringing its shelter system to a breaking point.

City officials project that the cost of sheltering and caring for migrants will cost $12 billion over the next three years.

Adams also reiterated his plea for federal and state officials to also come up with so-called “decompression” strategies that direct some migrants to areas outside the city.

The mayor’s decision was met with criticism, similar to those he ordered last year that resulted in a tense budget battle with the City Council.

In a joint statement, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Councilmember Justin Brannan, who chairs the finance committee, said they were seeking further details on the proposed cuts but also joined the mayor's call for more funding.

"There remains an urgent need for increased state and federal support to aid the City's response to increased international migration," they said. "Tens of thousands of people seeking asylum are arriving in our city at a time when we are already confronting a housing crisis, record homelessness and the sunset of federal COVID stimulus funds. New York City cannot be expected to handle this on our own."

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, City Comptroller Brad Lander said his office would review the proposed cuts and added that "scapegoating asylum-seekers will not improve education, public safety, housing affordability, or quality of life for New Yorkers."

“This massive and unexpected midyear cut will break the back of city agencies already struggling to provide basic services to New Yorkers,” said Zara Nasir, executive director of The People’s Plan, a left-leaning organization that has opposed budget cuts.

“The mayor’s shameful xenophobia can’t hide the truth: He’s the real threat to the city,” she added, referring to comments Adams made during a town hall on the Upper West Side on Wednesday.

The mayor delivered his most provocative comments yet on the issue, saying that he did not “see an ending” to the migrant crisis.

“This issue will destroy New York City,” he added.

Budget experts have long warned that the city faces difficult fiscal choices in the next year. Federal pandemic aid that had funded critical programs like pre-K is set to expire next year, and will leave gaping deficits.

At the same time, however, job growth has been strong and the city’s revenues have continued to exceed expectations.

Adams’ proposed cuts are the highest in many years, according to George Sweeting, a fiscal policy expert at the New School's Center for New York City Affairs.

When the city faced steep revenue declines during the pandemic’s first year, former Mayor Bill de Blasio called for most agencies to take more than 3% cuts, but was later rescued by billions in federal stimulus funds.

In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the City Council agreed to make deep spending cuts to many city agencies, increase the sales tax and significantly shrink the city’s workforce.

Fiscal hawks have urged Adams to make sharper cuts given the looming costs and the eventual loss of federal pandemic funding.

“It’s higher than the others, but given the size of the budget gap, it’s realistic and probably necessary,” said Ana Champeny, a vice president at the Citizens Budget Commission, a budget watchdog group.

This story was updated to include comments from members of the City Council and city comptroller.