Progressives slam Adams' proposed cuts as harmful and unnecessary

Steep budget cuts planned by Mayor Eric Adams will be “disastrous, unnecessary, and harmful,” according to progressive elected officials who held a rally outside City Hall on Tuesday morning.

“How many schools does Mayor Adams want to close? How many fire stations does Mayor Adams want to close? How many hospitals does Mayor Adams want to close?” asked Councilmember Lincoln Restler, who represents parts of Brooklyn.

Last week, Adams ordered city agencies to cut 5% of their budgets after saying the cost of providing services for tens of thousands of migrants "will destroy" the city. He also warned agencies to prepare for future cuts — possibly amounting to 15% across the board.

Councilmember Tiffany Cabán of Queens said Adams is exaggerating the current financial crisis to make unnecessary cuts.

“This pattern of cutting from our city agencies, gutting them is not new,” she said. “It didn't come with refugees. It didn't come with asylum-seekers. We have seen this since the beginning of the Adams administration.”

Cabán added that Adams is pitting low-income New Yorkers against each other through hate and xenophobia.

The rally was disrupted by a lone protester — Republican City Council candidate Jonathan Rinaldi — who stormed between news cameras and elected officials waving a sign and shouting “close the border” for several minutes. Rinaldi was booed and pushed away by Council staffers. Council staffers booed and pushed Rinaldi away, and police were called in after Rinaldi made several threats of violence. He eventually left peacefully.

Progressives pointed to Rinaldi as an example of the hate Adams is inspiring.

“When he speaks about destroying our city, when he spews xenophobic remarks, it breeds hate that does not exist or deserves to be here in New York City,” said Councilmember Chi Ossé of Brooklyn.

Progressives acknowledge there is little that can be done to halt Adams’ initial cuts in November.

"We either opt to take a vote as a Council and vote it down, or try to appeal to the mayor to come back and say this actually is a bad idea,” said Councilmember Jennifer Gutiérrez, who represents parts of Queens and Brooklyn.

She said the Council was planning a budget meeting on Tuesday afternoon to examine what legislative tools it may have for possible future cuts.

Adams’ office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

More than 110,000 migrants have arrived in New York City over the last year, bringing its shelter system to a breaking point. Adams administration officials project the cost of sheltering and caring for migrants will reach $12 billion over the next three years. Adams has repeatedly asked for more help from federal and state officials.

Progressives said the planned cuts exceed the actual cost of housing migrants, and that Adams failed to properly manage the crisis.