Photo courtesy of Ed Reed / Mayoral Photography Office
New York City Mayor Eric Adams released what he described as the “Best Budget Ever” on Thursday, May 1, saying the balanced $115.1 billion, 2026 fiscal year (FY) executive budget focuses, among other areas, on safety, affordability and quality of life. It includes funding of $28.3 million for the Hunts Point Market, and $30M for CUNY, among other investments.
One day later, as reported, Adams paid a visit to Norwood’s North Bronx Islamic Center & Jam-E-Masjid on East 205th Street and Bainbridge Avenue for a closed press event in front of a male audience to deliver remarks at the center’s Jummah prayer.
“This budget is a testament to our commitment to making New York City safer, more affordable, and the best place to raise a family,” the mayor said at the budget annoucement event held at his former high school in Bayside Queens. “From prioritizing access to child care and launching ‘After-School for All,’ to investing in permanent funding for libraries, CUNY, and our world-class institutions that make New York City what it is, to tackling quality-of-life issues and making our streets safer, the $1.4 billion we’re investing to protect and lift up critical programs will make lives better for families across all five boroughs.”
He added, “We are doing all of this while maintaining record-high reserves to help us face anything that comes our way. And, with the city’s largest 10-year capital plan at $173 billion, we are delivering on infrastructure improvements and transformative generational projects that were talked about for decades but never achieved. This is the budget my mom needed, that my family needed, and, with it, we’re saying to working families: your city has your back.” (References below to “baselined” refer broadly to a minimum benchmark for future budgeting purposes.)
Safey & Quality of Life
City officials said that to supplement existing public safety measures and to get more NYPD officers on city streets, the mayor recently announced that, combined with expanded eligibility requirements, the administration is putting the NYPD on a path to having 35,000 officers by the fall of 2026.
They said additional safety measures include funding to invest in alternatives to incarceration services, including case management, substance abuse programming, group counseling, housing placement assistance, health care, and other services for adults charged with a crime ($7.6 million, baselined). [See also our recent story on the creation of the West Bronx Community Safety Partnership.]
City officials said funding will also cover the indirect rate for non-profits that provide re-entry services, indigent defense, supervised release, and other criminal justice programming that was previously funded with stimulus dollars ($6.5 million, baselined). They said additional funding will go towards stabilizing recently decarcerated individuals with re-entry services, including job readiness training; mental, physical, and behavioral healthcare; counseling; housing assistance; and mentoring ($4.7 million, baselined).
Included in the budget is also an extension of Project Reset and Rapid Reset, which offers adults who are issued desk appearance tickets for eligible, non-violent misdemeanors the option to engage in voluntary, community-based programming as an alternative means of resolving their criminal cases ($4 million, baselined).
City officials said additionally, funding is being dedicated to accelerating FDNY inspections and plan reviews by adding 58 additional staff to the Bureau of Fire Prevention ($3.5 million), and increasing the New York City Department of Building (DOB)’s capacity to review and process inspection reports and enforce guidelines related to parking structures ($700,000).
Affordability
City officials said the “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” program will create 80,000 new homes over the next 15 years and is projected, in conjunction with the neighborhood rezonings plan, to create 30 percent more units of housing in less than four years than in the previous 20 years combined.
They said the Adams administration has also successfully advocated for the first expansion of the ‘Earned Income Tax Credit,’ which put over $345 million back in the pockets of New Yorkers and their families. They said the FY 2026 Executive Budget builds on these achievements, in the following ways:
- ongoing support for “Big Apple Connect,” the Adams’ administration’s program to offer high-speed internet and cable to over 150,000 New York City Housing Authority households across 220 developments ($38.8 million);
- supporting over 700 food pantries across the city through the “Community Food Connection” program at maintained FY 2025 funding levels ($36.1 million);
- supporting The City University of New York (CUNY), including funding for the “Accelerate, Complete, and Engage” program, the “Accelerated Study in Associate” program, and the Brooklyn Recovery Corps at Medgar Evers College ($30 million);
- creating more supportive housing by reimagining the “NYC 15/15 Supportive Housing Initiative” by increasing both the base rental assistance rates and annual voucher inflation rates for congregate units ($2.6 million in FY 2027, growing to $29.3 million in FY 2029);
- funding to maintain investment in the “Fair Fares NYC” to make public transportation more affordable for even more New Yorkers by maintaining eligibility at 145 percent of the federal poverty level ($20 million);
- funding to provide MetroCards to this summer’s Summer Youth Employment (SYEP) participants ($11 million);
- funding to support 139 staff to provide legal services and benefits eligibility screenings at housing court, as well as assistance in processing rent arrear one-shots ($10.1 million);
- funding to continue the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development’s “Adult Literacy Initiative” to provide literacy and English-language services for adults and out-of-school youth over 16-years old ($10 million);
- continued funding for the New York City Department of Homeless Services End-Of-Line subway station outreach work to bring unsheltered New Yorkers to intake centers and low-barrier shelter bed sites ($9 million);
- funding for the “NYC Benefits ” program to connect New Yorkers to eligible public assistance benefits through contracted community-based organizations ($7.2 million);
- funding to expand immigration legal services through the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs Immigration Legal Support Centers to provide legal screenings, pro se application assistance, case support services, immigration rights workshops, and more ($4.4 million);
- expanding the New York City Department of Small Business Services’ capacity for outreach and one-on-one technical assistance to local small businesses ($2.1 million);
- helping unemployed New Yorkers connect with job opportunities and career support across the city’s public workforce and investing in staffing for the citywide workforce outreach team that coordinates hiring halls ($700,000); and
- supporting creation of the “Manhattan Plan” to unlock an additional 100,000 units of housing across the borough ($500,000).
Educating Young People
City officials said educational investments include the following initiatives:
- launching “After-School for All” that will bring universal after-school to New York City, beginning with over 20,000 more K-5 students by the fall of 2027, totaling 184,000 students, through a needs assessment to gather input on future expansion (growing to $331 million in FY 2028, for a total budget of $755 million);
- hiring up to 3,700 new teachers across the public school system to reduce class sizes and provide more individualized care to students (initial city investment of $150 million growing to $200 million annually, state funding to be reflected later);
- funding to support over 700 early childhood education seats for three- and four-year-olds in special education ($55 million);
- funding to ensure every 3-K student will be offered a seat ($20 million);
- funding for Promise NYC, which provides child care to undocumented children and their families who are not eligible for federally-subsidized extended day and extended year child care ($25 million);
- funding for community outreach to maximize awareness of and enrollment in early childhood education seats, first announced as part of the City’s 10-point plan to make high-quality child care more affordable and accessible for all New Yorkers ($5 million);
- funding to address potential communication gaps between schools and parents who do not speak English fluently or who communicate in a language outside of the nine in which New York City Public Schools documents are routinely translated, including through sending postcards, conducting robocalls, and disseminating flyers to help cultivate increased access for families ($4 million); and
- expanding support for the Intensive Reading Education and Development program for early literacy and dyslexia ($3.4 million, growing to $7 million annually, baselined).
Permanent Funding for Educational Programs Once Funded by Federal Pandemic-Era Stimulus Dollars
City officials went on to say that for the first time, the City is committing to permanent, annual funding of $199 million in “critical education programs” to support families and their children that were once funded by federal pandemic-era stimulus funding. They said highlights include:
- supporting the citywide 3-K program with permanent funding ($92 million, baselined);
- funding for arts education in schools to ensure resources for school leaders, teachers, and students while ensuring diversification and reach to schools and communities previously underserved ($41 million, baselined);
- funding for “Project Pivot” to offer counseling, mentoring, and learning opportunities for young New Yorkers through recreational outings, sports, and arts programs ($15 million, baselined);
- investing in teacher recruitment at New York City Public Schools ($10 million, baselined);
- restorative justice programming designed to reduce the reliance on suspensions or punitive discipline across city schools ($6 million, baselined);
- digital learning resources for all students and teachers ($5 million, baselined);
- computer science education programs that offer computer science exposure, access to computer science-related college and career pathways, and build more inclusive access to computer science education for all students ($4 million, baselined);
- tutoring support for kindergarten through second grade literacy and sixth through eighth grade math education at select schools across the city ($4 million, baselined);
- investments in “Civics for All” resources, including materials, professional learning, and student-facing programming focused on culturally responsive civic education models where students demonstrate the necessary skills and disposition to protect and expand democratic ideals ($2 million, baselined); and
- parent and family engagement resources that support New York City Public Schools’ “Family Community Engagement” initiative, which focuses on parent empowerment and engagement ($1 million, baselined).
Photo by Síle Moloney
Investments in Healthcare
City officials said the mayor is also committed to improving the physical, emotional, and mental health of all New Yorkers, launching “HealthyNYC,” a plan to extend the lifespan of all New Yorkers with ambitious targets to address the greatest drivers of premature death, including chronic and diet-related diseases, screenable cancers, overdose, suicide, maternal mortality, violence, and COVID-19.
City officials said the Adams administration previously released the “Care, Community, Action: A Mental Health Plan for New York City,” a mental health agenda with $20 million in commitments to invest in the mental health of children and families. They said the Adams administration also released a $650 million plan to tackle homelessness and support people experiencing severe mental illness, first announced as part of his 2025 State of the City address. They said the latest highlights for health include:
- providing funding for the “Groceries to Go” program that helps eligible food insecure New Yorkers purchase groceries for delivery or pick up ($10 million);
- allocating funding to support tuberculosis case management at the City’s health department ($7.2 million);
- delivering funding to support existing Trauma Recovery Centers, which provide case management, therapy and crisis intervention services to underserved victims of violent crime ($4.8 million);
- investing funding to support clubhouses, an evidence-based model for psychiatric rehabilitation that provides peer support and access to services for people experiencing severe mental illness ($4 million); and
- investing funding for sanitary inspection and grading for mobile food vending units across New York City through the City’s health department ($2.8 million).
Financial Stability for Human Services Providers, Nonprofits, and Contractors
City officials said that in 2024, the mayor announced a $741 million investment for an estimated 80,000 human services workers employed by non-profit organizations that contract with the City as part of a new cost-of-living adjustment. They said additional investments include:
- funding indirect rate growth for human services providers that contract with the New York City Department for the Aging (NYC Aging), New York City Public Schools, and the New York City Human Resources Administration ($45.1 million);
- addressing a backlog of payments to vendors, including human services providers, by adding 20 additional positions to the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services’ help desk and making system improvements ($8.9 million); and
- making cost-of-living adjustments for criminal justice nonprofits ($5.9 million).
Protecting Funding for Programs & Services for Safety, Cleanliness & Affordability for Vulnerable New Yorkers
As part of this plan, Adams administration officials said it will invest $1.9 billion in new needs in FY 2026 and allocate $1.4 billion of this to protect programs that were not previously funded in the upcoming fiscal year, with more than $675 million of the programs funded permanently, many for the first time. They said this brings total programs and needs, newly baselined in the FY 2026 executive budget to more than $1.3 billion.
They said highlights include:
- funding to support school nurses ($298 million, growing to $307 million in FY 2027, baselined);
- funding to backfill expiring stimulus dollars and restore previous Program to Eliminate the Gap (PEG) initiatives for NYC Aging’s core programs, including the Community Cares initiative, Older Adult Centers, Home Delivered Meals, and more ($102 million, growing to $113 million in FY 2027, baselined);
- restoring CUNY savings in full ($96 million, baselined);
- investing in mobile treatment teams, like Intensive Mobile Treatment teams, that provide care, treatment, and support to individuals with severe mental illness to ensure that New Yorkers have a continuum of care ($47.3 million);
- funding to continue current level of litter basket pick-ups citywide ($29.7 million, growing to $31 million in FY 2028, baselined);
- providing annual funding for the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs’ Cultural Development Fund that supports more than 1,000 cultural organizations and neighborhood-based groups citywide ($23.5 million, baselined);
- increasing support for the 34 Cultural Institution Group member organizations, which include nonprofit museums, performing arts centers, historical societies, zoos, and botanical gardens across the city ($21.5 million, baselined);
- funding for additional attorneys for indigent defense providers that offer constitutionally-mandated services for criminal defendants at the trial and appellate levels to address increased caseloads ($20 million, baselined);
- funding for 7,000 Summer Youth Employment (SYEP) seats that had been covered with expiring stimulus dollars ($18.9 million, baselined);
- adding more funding ($15.7 million) to support library operations across the three public library systems i.e. New York Public Library ($5.8 million) and New York Research Library ($1.1 million), Queens Public Library ($4.4 million), and Brooklyn Public Library ($4.4 million);
- continuing funding for the intensive case management pilot that provides enhanced supervision for 1,100 defendants who have a recent persistent pattern of recidivism, non-compliance, and mental health concerns who need enhanced guidance while on supervised release ($9.1 million);
- funding to support 18 positions at the New York City Department of Sanitation’s (DSNY)’s Park Perimeter and Greenway Litter Basket program to service litter baskets on the perimeter of city parks and greenways as part of Mayor Adams’ “Get Stuff Clean” initiative ($1.4 million, baselined); and
- funding to support 21 positions for DSNY’s Precision Cleaning Initiative to provide targeted, request-based cleaning, including for homeless encampments ($1.1 million, baselined).
Protecting Critical Social Services
City officials said by “carefully managing the city’s budget, and due to strength in national and local economies in the current fiscal year,” the Adams administration was able to invest nearly $840 million in FY 2025 to protect services for the most vulnerable New Yorkers, in addition to the nearly $1.2 billion similarly invested in the FY 2026 Preliminary Budget. They said highlights include:
- sustaining New York City’s Medicaid contribution ($251 million);
- protecting rental assistance, including the City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS) program ($176.6 million);
- protecting New York City’s Cash Assistance contribution ($129.4 million);
- investing in the city’s foster care system to protect the city’s youth ($102.8 million);
- conducting shelter-needs alignment through the New York City Department of Homeless Services ($99.8 million);
- investing in the HIV/AIDS Service Administration program for housing and services for New Yorkers living with HIV and AIDS ($43.1 million);
- supporting affordable housing vouchers and services for formerly homeless households and seniors ($30.7 million); and
- investing in domestic violence shelters to support vulnerable New Yorkers and their families ($5.5 million).
FY 2026 Budget Details
City officials said the FY 2026 executive budget remains balanced at $115.1 billion, with gaps of $4.6 billion in FY 2027, $5.8 billion in FY 2028, and $5.7 billion in FY 2029. They said the city’s strong economy has been notable in terms of job creation and tourism and that tax revenue is expected to increase by nearly 8 percent in FY 2025, driven by growth in income and business taxes, though as the economy slows, growth is forecast to decline to around one percent in FY 2026.
They said this will result in an upward revision over the FY 2026 preliminary budget of $1.7 billion in FY 2025 and $1 billion in FY 2026, and puts the city forecast on par with fiscal monitors and the New York City Council.
They said the baseline forecast is predicated on economic conditions, as well as federal fiscal and trade policy known prior to April 2025. They said the unprecedented and unpredictable federal trade policy recently announced in early April (by the Trump administration) and the subsequent impact on financial markets poses a potential impact to the city’s economy as well as its tax base. They said the outlook may be updated in the upcoming adopted budget, if necessary.
Adams administration officials went on to say that total citywide savings in this plan are $1.9 billion over FY 2025 and FY 2026, and were achieved without a PEG [program to eliminate the gap] program, service cuts, layoffs, or raising taxes. The Program to Eliminate the Gap (PEG) is the effort to achieve budget savings, with City agencies reexamining internal processes and policies, using resources efficiently, and re-estimating expenses.
They said this includes asylum seeker savings of $298 million in FY 2025 and $1.2 billion in FY 2026, with $1 billion of the savings achieved in FY 2026 used to offset $1 billion in assistance the city assumed the state would, but did not, provide in FY 2026.
City officials said maintaining budget reserves as a safeguard against the unexpected is a critical part of what they called the “Adams administration’s strong financial management strategy.” They said the FY 2026 executive budget maintains a record level $8.5 billion in reserves, including $1.2 billion in the general reserve, $5 billion in the retiree health benefits trust fund, $250 million in the capital stabilization reserve, and a record level of $2 billion in the rainy day fund.
Photo by Síle Moloney
Climate Goals
City officials said that last April, under the leadership of the mayor and New York City Office of Management and Budget Director Jacques Jiha, Ph.D., New York City became the first big city in the United States to implement climate budgeting, a system that integrates climate targets and considerations into the budget process to support achieving the city’s goals of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and resiliency to climate threats.
They said in this executive budget, the Adams administration will be releasing the second annual climate budgeting publication, which showcases what they said is the city’s commitment to funding climate action, including nearly $8 billion in capital funding for decarbonization and almost $13 billion for flooding and extreme heat resiliency.
Investing in the City’s Largest-Ever 10-Year Capital Plan
City officials said that in the FY 2026 preliminary budget, the mayor announced the city’s largest, 10-year capital plan at $170 billion. Now, they said the city is beating that record, to increase the capital plan even further, to a record $173.4 billion over the next decade. They said this will improve the city’s infrastructure, including its roads, bridges, schools, water and sewer facilities, libraries, and transportation systems in neighborhoods across the five boroughs.
They said that as the largest 10-Year Capital Plan in city history, it includes:
- $33.3 billion for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection;
- $32 billion for transportation and $400 million for mass transit;
- $24.7 billion for affordable housing;
- $23.8 billion for New York City Public Schools;
- $16.1 billion for the New York City Department of Correction, courts, and the NYPD;
- $10.4 billion for New York City Department of Parks and Recreation;
- $3.2 billion for DSNY; and
- $29.5 billion for other city services, including $6.6 billion for economic development and $3.1 billion for cultural institutions and libraries.
City officials said new investments funded within the 10-Year Capital Plan include:
- completing the funding for the “Future of Fifth” project that will transform Fifth Ave between Bryant Park and Central Park into a pedestrian-focused boulevard ($250 million);
- addressing maintenance and renovations across all three library systems, including nearly $51 million designated for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems and $50 million towards a comprehensive renovation of the landmarked Seward Park Library branch ($169.1 million);
- adding matching funds to support reconstruction and revitalization at the Brooklyn Marine Terminal to support the “Harbor of the Future” ($109.3 million);
- adding resources for the reconstruction of the historic Tony Dapolito Recreation Center to fully fund the project, including a fully accessible pool, a pool house building, a new indoor recreation center, and preservation of the iconic Keith Haring mural ($51.8 million);
- replacing the pedestrian bridge at East 25th Street over the FDR Drive as part of the Science Park and Research Campus Kips Bay project that will create a state-of-the-art life sciences, health care, and public health hub ($42 million); and
- funding to continue investments near the Hunts Point Market by improving and expanding public waterfront access next to the Market ($28.3 million).
admin
Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.