What do 5% city austerity budget cuts look like here in Riverdale?

Mayor Eric Adams recently announced 5 percent budget cuts to all city agencies, including schools, libraries, sanitation and police.

Why? He credits the migrant crisis, which in the 2023 fiscal year, of which the city spent $1.45 billion. The mayor expects that figure to get much higher with the city spending nearly $11 billion on the crisis over the next two fiscal years.

“For months, we have warned New Yorkers about the challenging fiscal situation our city faces,” Adams stated Nov. 16.

“To balance the budget as the law requires, every city agency dug into their own budget to find savings, with minimal disruption to services. And while we pulled it off this time, make no mistake: Migrant costs are going up, tax revenue growth is slowing, and Covid stimulus funding is drying up. No city should be left to handle a national humanitarian crisis largely on its own, and without the significant and timely support we need from Washington, D.C., today’s budget will be only the beginning.”

The cuts come amid a corruption investigation into Mayor Adams 2021 campaign, as well as more recently an accusation of sexual assault in 1993. These budget cuts have faced criticism from several unions, community groups and elected figures, including Councilman Eric Dinowitz, who told The Riverdale Press he does not believe it is accurate to attribute the cuts solely to the migrant crisis.

“I’m deeply concerned about the proposed cuts being proposed by Mayor Eric Adams,” Dinowitz said. “We rely on our city services for food, everyday needs and quality of life. It may have a detrimental effect on quality of life.”

That quality of life looks different depending on what agency you’re looking at. For public libraries, budget cuts have resulted in several libraries throughout the city and borough having to close service on Sunday, including Spuyten Duyvil Library, Van Cortlandt Library, Jerome Park Library, Riverdale Library, Kingsbridge Library and the Bronx Library Center.

The slashing of the budget has also frozen police hiring, bringing down the number of police department officers below 30,000 for the first time since the 1980s, The New York Times reported. With the freezing of police hiring, comes the question of how the search for a new commanding officer at the 50th Precinct will be slowed down. The 5-0 would not comment.

Then there are the severe cuts on the education front, with $1 billion being slashed over two years, hurting summer school and universal prekindergarten programs. It also slashed safety agents — those who ensure students and faculty are safe at school. At a media briefing Adams warned that parents would need to volunteer, Fox News reported. Adams also urged the city’s richest to open their wallets to help, the outlet reported.

“We’re going to be working with being in contact with senior centers, schools, community members, local community members to hear specifically how these cuts are going to impact them on the ground,” said Dinowitz, a former special education teacher. “Mayor Adams, any administration, (takes a bird’s eye view) on things, I look at the people and see the effect on my constituents.”

Another way the district will see change is in the sanitation side of things. The rollout of a mandatory curbside composting program to Staten Island and the Bronx is being delayed from April to next October, amNY reported.

Additionally, the Parks Opportunity Program, which employs workers to clean bathrooms, pick up trash and remove graffiti, will be eliminated within six months as a result of the budget cuts. Those workers will have until about June 30.

“Honestly it’s not going to be pretty. It’s going to be a tough year for parks next year,” said Van Cortlandt Park Alliance deputy director Christina Taylor. “The parks have been (operating) on a shoestring budget.”

The alliance and New Yorkers For Parks have been fighting for the Adams administration to dedicate 1 percent of city budgets to parks, so the recent slashing to a budget already at about 0.5 percent has been devastating.

The most immediate changes the park will see, Taylor says, is a hiring freeze, vehicles in poor conditions and not being able to purchase new ones or purchasing enough garbage bags or new cans. That is where the alliance will step in.

The alliance is hoping to raise funding to hire a seasonal staff next year that can work alongside the Parks department in cleaning bathrooms, picking up trash and removing graffiti.

They would also like to hire the existing POP workers if they are interested and put them on their payroll. Those interested in donating to the seasonal maintainers fund can go to tinyurl.com/5n89m29h

“We are very proud of the legacy of the POP program, which has been instrumental in placing thousands of New Yorkers into full-time employment,” stated Meghan Lalor, Assistant Commissioner for Communications at NYC Parks. “Parks will retain all existing program staff through their 6-month terms, and full-time staff will be transitioned to new roles.

“Parks will utilize our $25 million annual program to retain existing full time staff, purchase maintenance and operation supplies, and hire seasonal staff. We remain committed to ensuring that our Parks staff at all levels have access to the resources they need to succeed in the agency and beyond.”

There have been several calls by unions for congress members to reject Mayor Adams’ budget. When asked by The Press if he planned on rejecting Adams proposed budget, Dinowitz said they would certainly push back on certain areas, however they can’t invent money.

Adams has previously said that the migrant crisis would “destroy” New York City. He’s blamed the recent budget crisis on the federal government, saying, “D.C. has abandoned us.” He has warned that there will be another round of 5 percent budget cuts in January.