Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced the approval on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 New York City Budget.  The $50.2 billion budget invests in education, human services, public safety and economic development while reducing taxes and closing what was once an almost $4 billion budget gap.  The budget was unanimously approved by the Council and signed by the Mayor.

"I am proud of this fiscally responsible budget which is good for all New Yorkers," said Mayor Bloomberg. "It reflects and funds our priorities: safer streets, better schools, more jobs and affordable housing. The budget allows us to make necessary investments in our future, whether it's through building new schools and class rooms or new parks and infrastructure improvements in neighborhoods across the City. We continue to provide tax relief and this budget contains the $400 property tax rebate and as well as the elimination of the City sales tax on clothing and foot-ware under $110. It will help hardworking New Yorkers make ends meet and provide for their families."

Tax Relief:
The FY '06 budget includes $500 million in tax relief for hard-working New Yorkers and their families.  Last year the City was able to reward homeowners who helped New York through its fiscal crisis with a $400 property tax rebate. Over 668,000 Class 1 and Class 2 homeowners received a $400 rebate on their property tax.  The program cost approximately $256 million and is being extended through FY '07.

The exemption of the City share of the sales tax on clothing purchases under $110 passed by the State Legislature last week will be accelerated to September 1, 2005.    The program will cost $184 million in FY '06 and $166 million in FY '07.  Tax relief will also be provided for renovations of small rental buildings and repairs to Mitchell-Lama properties. 

Education:
Total City funding on behalf of the Department of Education (DOE) has increased by $2.5 billion since 2002.  In addition to bringing accountability and reform to the Department, there were record increases in test scores and graduation rates are at the highest rate in nearly 20 years.  Students meeting the new math standards are up 25% and there has been a 55% reduction in the number of City Schools on the State's failing list.  In the FY '06 budget, the City will increase funding to DOE by almost $750 million.

New Initiatives Include:

• $25 million for early grade intervention for at risk students and class size reductions in grades K through 3
• $13.4 million will be spent by DOE to hire 327 new school safety agents
• $10 million will be spent to expand middle school intervention for struggling students
• $2.8 million will be allocated for gifted and talented programs and to expand advance placement offering in middle and high schools
• $7.1 million will be used to expand the Teacher Mentoring Program
• $2.8 million will be allocated to increase the Translation Unit and enhance English Language Learner classroom libraries and interim assessments
• $18 million for CUNY community colleges

Capital Investments Include:

• $13.3 billion for school construction that will create 65,000 new classroom seats by 2009
• $415 million for campus-wide capital investments at CUNY including $80 million for Borough of Manhattan Community College, $69 million for Medgar Evers College and $38 million for Bronx Community College

Public Safety:
Since 2001, crime overall has dropped by nearly 20% and the murder rate is at a 40-year low. Through targeted deployment, the NYPD is keeping New York safer and 1,000 officers are now detailed to counter-terrorism. The Fire Department has brought the number of fire fatalities to its lowest point since 1919.

New Initiatives Include:

• $11 million will be allocated to the Fire Department for the purchase, testing and training of personal safety rope systems for the firefighters
• $18.8 million for District Attorneys and the Special Narcotics Prosecutor
• $1.3 million will be spent to increase the diversity and minority recruitment at the FDNY

Capital Investments Include:

• $205 million to renovate 125 firehouses and EMS stations
• $192 million to renovate six police precincts
• $25 million to build a new police precinct on Staten Island

Housing:
The New Housing Marketplace's $3 billion commitment to the construction and preservation of 68,000 units of affordable housing is largest investment in housing stock in twenty years.

Capital Investments Include:

• $1 billion partnership with the Enterprise Foundation to build 10,000 new homes and preserve 5,000 existing affordable housing units
• $130 million in Battery Park City Authority joint purpose funds to create the New York City Housing Trust Fund
• $341 million for supportive housing for the homeless
• $30 million to build a new Homeless Family Intake Center

Economic Development:
Over the last three years the City has pursued an aggressive five-borough economic development plan. There are 62 major economic development projects that will create at least 330,000 jobs over the next 30 years as well as 35 rezoning projects covering 3,000 city blocks in the pipeline.

New Initiatives Include:

• $26 million to create Industrial Business Zones that will include expansion and relocation tax credits
• $12.5 million per year for a Film Production Tax Incentive
• $20 million for NYC Works to combat chronic unemployment and promote entrepreneurship

Capital Investments Include:

• $130 million for the development of the Greenpoint/Williamsburg Waterfront
• $92 million for Brooklyn Navy Yard Development
• $89 million for redevelopment of Downtown Brooklyn
• $66 million for development of the Staten Island Homeport
• $28 million for Jamaica Station redevelopment
• $26 million for Hunts Point revitalization
• $22 million for 125th Street redevelopment

Critical Infrastructure:
Street cleanliness is at it highest level since the City began tracking it 30 years ago and the City has presented a new Solid Waste Management Plan that will take thousand of trucks off our City's streets each year.

New Initiative Include:

• $5.3 million will be added to the City's baseline to fund supplemental trash basket collection
• $1.7 million in FY '06 to fund three additional weekday Staten Island ferry runs

Capital Investments Include:

• $824 million for the construction and renovation of Department of Sanitation garages
• $1 billion to resurface 8,000 lane miles of City Streets
• $138 million for construction and renovation of Staten Island Courthouses

Health and Welfare:
New York's public assistance caseload has declined by 10% since 2002, and it is at its lowest point in decades. The Foster Care caseload is down nearly 6,000 since the administration began and is investing $107 million in savings to strengthen and support families. The number of families and adults in homeless shelters is declining for the first time in recent years; the City has implemented a new rental assistance program and has created a blueprint to end homelessness in five years. New York's public hospital system is widely recognized as one of the finest in the country and 188,000 fewer New Yorkers are smoking since 2002.

New Initiatives Include:

• $3 million for Healthy Women/Healthy Babies Initiative
• $27 million for senior services, including $1.7 million for weekend meals for seniors and $1.5 million for enhancements to Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities
• $21 million for summer jobs and after school programs
• $9 million for the Immigrant Opportunities Initiative
• $19 million for additional childcare slots
• $2 million for food pantries and soup kitchens
• $3.5 million for initiatives to increase access to primary care on Staten Island
• $3 million to expand rapid HIV testing in HHC emergency rooms and clinics
• $1 million for mental health services for senior citizens
• $1 million to continue implementation of the award winning TEMIS medical interpretation system at HHC

Capital Investments Include:

• $225 million for Harlem Hospital Center Modernization
• $140 million for Kings County Hospital's New Behavioral Center
• $101 million for Gourverneur Hospital renovation and reconstruction

Parks, Libraries and Cultural Institutions:
Since 2002, the Parks Department has added 300 acres of new parkland and 24 miles of greenway. New York's cultural organizations and libraries have never been more vibrant and are a driving force behind the City's rising number of visitors and economic recovery.

New Initiatives Include:

• $31.2 million for general operating support for cultural organizations
• $39.6 million for general operating support for libraries
• $7.3 million for 500 seasonal workers for City Parks

Capital Investment Include:

• $398 million for Neighborhood Parks Citywide
• $200 million for Bronx Parks
• $165 million for Park Development in conjunction with the New Yankee Stadium
• $105 million for infrastructure improvements in conjunction with the New Mets Stadium
• $100 million for Fresh Kills Park Development
• $17 million for Elmhurst Keyspan Park
• $53 million for Brooklyn Bridge Park
• $65 million for Hudson River Park
• $31.6 million for the expansion of the Queens Museum of Art
• $15.6 million for the construction of an educational facility at the Society for the Preservation of Weeksville
• $7.9 million for the Staten Island Zoo
• $24.5 million for infrastructure improvements at the New York Botanical Gardens
• $38.9 million for facility modernization at the American Museum of Natural History
• $8.6 million for acquisition and renovation of the Kingsbridge Branch Library