City Council approves budget

The City Council officially voted Sunday to approve the city’s budget for the 2025 fiscal year, which begins Monday. The budget passed by a vote of 46 to 3.

On Friday, Mayor Eric Adams and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams announced they had reached a handshake deal on a $112 billion spending plan. The agreement comes after weeks of negotiations between both sides of City Hall over restoring planned cuts.

The budget restores $100 million in funding for early childhood development programs, and returns seven-day service and $58 million to city libraries, as well as $53 million to cultural institutions.

The deal also includes $2 billion towards housing, with $500 million for the city’s rental assistance program known as CityFHEPS.

The changes take effect Monday.

In a statement, Mayor Adams thanked the council for “passing a budget that addresses the affordability crisis head-on, and that invests in the future of our city and the working-class people who make New York the greatest city in the world.“

Adams’ statement goes on to say that despite “unprecedented challenges,” the city “passed a collaborative budget that addresses the three things that cost New Yorkers the most: housing, childcare and health care.”