Mayor de Blasio Proposes Budget that Adds Fuel to the Affordability Crisis Fire

Reclaim New York Initiative statement on Mayor de Blasio’s FY2019 preliminary budget proposal:

“The Mayor’s budget is unconscionable and unaffordable. It adds billions in spending, and more debt, when city taxpayers and business are already struggling with some of the highest taxes in the nation.

“If Mayor de Blasio really cares about the affordability crisis, incoming economic downturn, and lost funds from Washington and Albany, his budget doesn’t show it. He keeps shortchanging recommended reserves, touting a gimmicky savings program, and adding to a costly, bloated city bureaucracy that is already at record levels.

“New Yorkers don’t need glamour city agencies, stuffed with political allies, like the Mayor’s expanded international affairs office or nightlife ambassador.

“It is nice the Mayor stands up to Albany’s bullying over the MTA, but he should go much further and join many city leaders who have demanded independent investigations into the agency’s out-of-control costs. Taxpayers and riders deserve answers on the mass transit meltdown before the MTA gets more of their hard-earned money.

“Instead of fueling his personal agenda and making his political allies happy, the Mayor should take the lead on city property tax reform that would improve people’s quality of life and reduce the costs of living.”