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Crowd rallied at City Hall Park to denounce mayor’s latest budget cuts proposal

Those at the rally urged the Adams administration to find different solutions like increasing the city's revenue.

News 12 Staff

Sep 19, 2023, 4:50 PM

Updated 458 days ago

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Elected officials and community organizations rallied at City Hall Park Tuesday morning to speak out against Mayor Eric Adams’ latest budget cut proposal.
His plan includes cutting billions of dollars in funding for city agencies. It comes as the city continues to face a huge financial setback due to the mounting asylum-seeker crisis.
The rally was planned by New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. Among those there in support were members of New York City's Progressive Caucus including Council Member's Shahana Hanif, Jennifer Guittérez, Lincoln Restler and Carmen De La Rosa.
Mayor Adams recently directed every city agency to reduce their city-funded spending by up to 15% in the coming months. He cited the financial strain from the migrant crisis as one of the main reasons for the request.
"The mayor and the administration proposed cuts to the budget long before the migrants got here. So, to pretend the migrants are the reason to propose cuts is disingenuous," said New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
Some local officials are now calling the mayor's leadership into question.
"No mayor ever stands in front of you and says, 'We give up.' Never. This is the first time a mayor has stood up and said, 'I give up'," said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.
Those at the rally urged the Adams administration to find different solutions like increasing the city's revenue. News 12 has reached out to the Mayor's Office for comment but have not heard back.