Last week, our ‘Best Budget Ever’ got even better as our administration worked with the City Council to deliver a budget that prioritizes public safety, affordability, and improved quality of life — the things that matter most to New Yorkers. Our budget builds on the work we have done to protect $1.4 billion in critical programs facing stimulus cliffs and makes real investments in the areas working-class families care about most.
This is not a budget that favors the few, but all New Yorkers. It launches universal after-school programming and, if successful, could put New York on the path to becoming the first major U.S. city to provide free universal childcare to low-income residents, invests in permanent funding for libraries and CUNY, hires more teachers, keeps us on the pathway to 35,000 uniformed police officers by the fall of 2026, and, for the first time ever, abolishes New York City personal income taxes for low-income New Yorkers thanks to our ‘Axe the Tax’ plan that will put $63 million back in the pockets of 582,000 low-income New Yorkers and their families.
The decisions we made in this budget were guided by my own lived experience as a lifelong New Yorker. I was a New York City public-school student and a former NYPD officer. Fighting for the future of our city and the needs of our neighbors is second nature to me, and it is what our administration is doing every day.
To make the American Dream a reality for all New Yorkers, we must make our city more affordable for working-class families. For too long, families have struggled to afford the high costs of child care, resulting in many leaving the five boroughs. Working families deserve better. And with this budget we are delivering for them.
On the heels of launching our “After-School for All” program, we are now looking to offer families more options with a groundbreaking $10 million pilot program to provide free child care for children aged two and under from low-income families. This program will help ease the affordability squeeze many families are feeling and get our kids the quality child care they need from the earliest ages.
And we are making transit more affordable for everyone in our city, too, because working-class New Yorkers shouldn’t have to spend their entire paycheck just to get to their jobs. With this budget we are increasing the ‘Fair Fares’ program so that New Yorkers whose income is up to 150 percent of the federal poverty level can afford to use our transit system.
Our libraries are critical for children, families, and every New Yorker, and serve as the great equalizer by helping to level the playing field. With this budget, we are adding $15 million in funding to support library operations across the three public library systems as well as an additional $2 million to ensure seven-day-a-week service in 10 additional branches citywide. We are making sure that more libraries can keep their doors open every day and offer the services that New Yorkers rely on.
Our Fiscal Year 2026 Adopted Budget also looks out for the New Yorkers who need our help the most and protects services that strengthen our communities. We are adding nearly $2 million to provide critical financial assistance to LGBTQ+ organizations and providers that have been impacted by the federal government’s policies. This funding will support essential services such as housing assistance, health care access, legal support, and crisis intervention for LGBTQ+ individuals.
Our city, and our nation, was built by our immigrant brothers and sisters, but we know that, right now, many of them live in fear of being detained or deported, and that’s why our administration is using every legal means possible to keep them safe. In this budget, we are funding over $55 million in immigration-related legal services for New Yorkers. With this funding, not only will we be spending more than we did last year, but we will also continue to spend more than any other American city to keep our immigrant neighbors safe.
Additionally, this budget backfills funding for the federal AmeriCorps service program that improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering within our own city agencies. This program was previously funded by a grant from AmeriCorps, and we are now exploring ways to create a new program funded by our city.
With this Adopted Budget we are also doubling down on our commitment to address mental health concerns across all five boroughs. We are supporting people experiencing severe mental illness and our city’s most vulnerable by investing $18 million to meet New Yorkers where they are.
Since day one, public safety has been our North Star, it is the foundation on which our city is built, and we are proud New York remains the safest big city in America. New Yorkers want to feel safe and not have to worry when they are crossing the street, and that’s why this budget invests over $6 million at full ramp-up to create a ‘Department of Sustainable Delivery’ under the Department of Transportation to regulate commercial e-bike traffic and keep our streets safe.
And we continue to dam every stream feeding into the river of crime and violence in our city by investing $14 million in criminal justice initiatives, such as justice-involved supportive housing units, alternatives to incarceration restoration, re-entry restoration, and electronic monitoring, as well as ensuring our five district attorneys have more resources to pursue justice.
This Fiscal Year 2026 Adopted Budget builds on our strong fiscal management and invests in the services New Yorkers need. With this budget, we are making New York City safer, more affordable, and the best place to raise a family — a place where you know that your city is looking out for you.
Photo: Ed Reed, Mayoral Photography Office
