Mayor Adams' Statement in Response to Governor Hochul's Fiscal Year 2024 Executive Budget

February 1, 2023

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today released the following statement in response to the release of New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s Fiscal Year 2024 Executive Budget:

“While we are reviewing the details of the Governor Hochul’s budget proposal, it is clear that there are many victories worth celebrating, particularly in the areas of serious mental illnesses, addressing our housing crisis, and strengthening the entire ecosystem of public safety. There are also areas of uncertainty that will require deeper review.

“First, the governor has proposed putting substantial resources behind efforts to ensure that those in need get the mental health care they deserve, which will do a great deal to advance the plan I laid out towards the end of last year. This budget also advances key components of our shared housing agenda, helping New York City build more new homes and convert existing offices and basements for residential use, while providing much-needed tax incentives to increase our supply of affordable housing.

“The governor also laid out a robust public safety agenda that would protect New Yorkers by investing in upstream solutions, helping to address the problem of recidivism, and making commendable investments to hire more lawyers to reduce case backlogs, and the city is committed to fighting for additional resources to ensure we can address the ongoing bottlenecks in our criminal justice system.

“At the same time, our city continues to face significant fiscal and economic challenges that will require additional support from the state. I commend Governor Hochul for recognizing the need to provide state resources to assist with the ongoing asylum seeker crisis, and we look forward to reviewing her proposal in greater detail to ensure New York City gets its fair share of resources. As I’ve said previously, a national crisis requires a national response. We will continue to need our federal and state partners to do their part, and we look forward to working in partnership with them.

“The governor has also proposed having the city increase its contribution to the MTA by at least $500 million annually. The city annually contributes approximately $2 billion to the MTA in direct and in-kind contributions and, while we recognize the significant fiscal challenges the MTA faces, we are concerned that this increased commitment could further strain our already-limited resources.

“Finally, there are a whole host of important policy improvements in this budget, including community hiring provisions and proven alternative project delivery methods, which will allow us to build large projects faster and smarter.

“Governor Hochul has been, and continues to be, a strong partner for the city, and we look forward to working with her and the Legislature in the months ahead to ensure New York City has the resources it deserves.”