As he campaigns for reelection, Mayor Eric Adams has spent the week teasing new details in an optimistic budget that largely ignores the pressures of looming federal cuts and a potential recession driven by President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Adams on Thursday touted what he’s calling the “best budget ever” — a $115.1 billion spending plan — at his alma mater, Bayside High School in Queens. He began by noting his own challenges as a student: The mayor is dyslexic and faced difficulties in high school.
“And now I’m returning as a mayor that’s elected,” he added, using a common refrain he's included in many speeches.
The revised proposal adds roughly $600 million to the preliminary plan and includes new funding for educational programs and guaranteed future funding for CUNY, cultural institutions and libraries. Many of the newly flush programs were ones the mayor had cut in prior years, sparking a public backlash and fights with the City Council.
“This budget is a testament to our commitment to making New York City safer, more affordable, and the best place to raise a family,” Adams said in a statement.
The mayor’s budget announcement made little mention of likely federal funding cuts that are threatening a variety of services for New Yorkers, including public schools. Nor did it account for the trade war triggered by Trump’s on-and-off tariffs, which have created global economic uncertainty and are expected to raise the prices of many consumer goods.
Adams, who had been indicted on federal corruption charges until the Trump administration intervened to get his case dropped, has refrained from criticizing the Trump administration and has not acknowledged the possibility of a recession.
City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is running for mayor, described Adams’ budget as a “fantasyland.”
“By refusing to put more money into reserves and prepare for the reality we are facing, Adams is once again failing to protect New Yorkers,” Lander said in a statement.
Andrew Rein, of the Citizens Budget Commission, a fiscal watchdog group, agreed with the comptroller’s assessment. He called the mayor’s increases “unaffordable” and said that federal cuts or a recession could make anticipated multi-billion dollar shortfalls in future years “devastating.”
Another mayoral challenger, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, did not fault the mayor for not setting aside rainy day money. She called the budget a “better start” compared to prior years when Council members clashed with the mayor over cuts.
The Council will negotiate with the mayor on the final budget, which is due on June 30.
“While we must remain vigilant and prepared for the chaos and threats from the Trump administration, we cannot do it at the expense of the essential investments in our city and services for New Yorkers,” the speaker said in a joint statement with Justin Brannan, who chairs the Council's finance committee.
Facing low approval ratings, Adams is pouring more spending into popular programs. Among the highlights was the decision to expand after-school to 20,000 elementary school students over the next three years, a plan that one of his mayoral rivals had made the centerpiece of his own campaign. Affordable child care has emerged as a key issue in the race as families struggle to find and pay for day care slots. And it has become a political vulnerability for Adams, who has drawn criticism in past budget cycles for proposing cuts to child care and limits on early education.
State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, who has placed an emphasis on after-school while running in the Democratic mayoral primary, criticized the mayor’s proposed expansion.
“New Yorkers need free, universal after-school for every kid — not Eric Adams’ watered-down, rip-off of my policy,” Myrie said in a statement.
Adams also emphasized policing and public safety, another key issue in the mayoral campaign despite notable drops in crime on the mayor's watch. He said his budget sets aside funding to increase the size of the city’s police force to 35,000 by fall 2026.
At a press conference after his speech, the mayor pointed to $8.5 billion the city has in reserves, the highest level in history.
“That’s responsible management,” he said. He argued that a potential recession should not prevent the city from making investments in education, housing and public safety.
“We will deal with whatever comes,” he added.
Administration officials also credited the city’s success in bringing down the cost of the migrant crisis by limiting shelter stays for new arrivals.
This year’s budget announcement featured an unusual kind of pomp and circumstance for a plan that will still need to be negotiated with the City Council. Adams celebrated the inclusion of baseline funding for permanent programs, meaning that the allocated funding would be carried over into subsequent budgets.
Standing in front of a crowd of students, he repeatedly initiated a call-and-response, saying: “When I say baseline, you say …”
“Forever,” the crowd of students replied.
James Parrott, a local economist and budget expert, said there is no such guarantee.
“Budgets can be edited every year, as they are every year,” he said.
This story has been updated with additional information.
