New York Adopts Record $99 Billion Budget to Aid Pandemic Recovery

Helped along by an enormous infusion of federal pandemic aid, New York City officials on Wednesday adopted the city’s largest budget ever, a $98.7 billion spending plan that restores many of the service cuts prompted by the sudden economic downturn caused by the coronavirus.

The budget, which includes $14 billion in federal aid, represents a sharp reversal from last year when the city locked down its economy to control the outbreak, creating a major financial strain and forcing a reduction in spending.

But with the pandemic receding amid rising vaccination rates and the lifting of public health restrictions, the outlook for New York has grown brighter. Restaurants and bars are filling with patrons, and popular gathering spots like Times Square are showing glimmers of their prepandemic bustle.

The budget, which the City Council approved by a vote of 39 to 6, is roughly $10.5 billion higher than last year and is $24 billion higher than Mayor Bill de Blasio’s first budget in 2014. The new fiscal year begins on Thursday.

The budget increases spending for the New York Police Department by $200 million, including a $166 million increase for overtime.

The rise in police spending comes a year after the mayor and the City Council moved to shift nearly $1 billion in resources from the police budget following the defund the police movement that was catalyzed nationwide by the killing of George Floyd.

Critics were not appeased by the shift, arguing that it was a smoke-and-mirrors maneuver that did not amount to a substantive reduction. Among other items, city officials pledged last year to substantially reduce overtime, but the department failed to meet that goal: $268 million was budgeted for police overtime but that number was exceeded by $168 million, according to the Independent Budget Office.

Some Council members voted against the budget on Wednesday because of the increase in police spending, which resulted in a Police Department budget of $5.4 billion.

“All neighborhoods need and deserve to be safe, and we must confront rising levels of gun violence,” said Brad Lander, a councilman from Brooklyn who voted to reject the budget. “But New York City already has more police officers per capita than nearly every large American city.” Mr. Lander is leading the field for comptroller in the Democratic Primary under the city’s ranked-choice voting system.

Antonio Reynoso, another councilman from Brooklyn who voted no and is the leading candidate in the primary for Brooklyn borough president, said the budget did not address the inequities exposed by the pandemic.

And, he added, it did not do enough to help people “historically left behind by government” but yet managed to find money to fund the Police Department, which will help to “criminalize poor people.”

Mr. de Blasio defended the increase in police spending, saying the city needed to provide realistic funding for overtime and that the increase also includes $47 million for technology upgrades and $12 million for initiatives to improve policing.

Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, who is leading in the Democratic Primary for mayor, praised the budget as “good news” brought on by federal aid.

The budget should give a break to some taxpayers. Property taxes across all classes, including commercial and one-to-three family homes, should decrease on the whole because of a drop in assessed value, officials said.

In addition to significant federal aid, the city exceeded projected personal income tax and corporate tax revenue by $2.1 billion in the fiscal year that just ended.

The mayor called his last spending plan a “recovery budget” that builds on the $8 billion the city has already spent to fight the pandemic. The city will spend $30 million to promote the return of tourism and hire 10,000 residents to form a cleaning corps across the five boroughs.

To address racial and economic disparities exposed by the pandemic and national protests over the killing of Mr. Floyd, the city will deposit $100 into the accounts of all kindergartners as part of a “Baby Bonds” effort that could expand to $15 million in the next fiscal year.

The city will also invest $4 million to fund full scholarships for Black and low-income residents who attend the City University of New York and $6.5 million to quickly train 1,000 New Yorkers for jobs in high-demand fields. Another $57 million will provide health care, employment, housing and job training to people who are released from prison.

To address a rise in shootings and homicides that have plagued the city since the pandemic, the city will spend $24 million to provide job training and support services to 1,000 people who are most at risk of participating in or being a victim of violence in neighborhoods including Brownsville, Brooklyn; South Jamaica, Queens; and Mott Haven in the Bronx.

The budget also sets aside $1 billion in a rainy-day fund to respond to any unexpected challenges, including another pandemic.

“This is a recovery budget that will allow this city to come back strong,” Mr. de Blasio said in the rotunda of City Hall, where he announced the agreement along with the City Council speaker, Corey Johnson.

Mr. Johnson said, “We have restored many programs to the prepandemic level,” listing literacy and anti-hate crime efforts.

The budget also reversed cuts to parks, libraries and cultural institutions that were made because of the pandemic.

But some critics said the budget does not focus enough on creating jobs and instead invests money on starting programs that will require tax increases to maintain once the federal aid dries up.

“They should be investing in the restart of the private-sector economy, small businesses, minority businesses,’‘ said Kathryn Wylde, the president of the Partnership for New York City, an influential business group. “Local chambers of commerce could be running cleanup efforts. We should stimulate the private- sector economy rather than expand city hiring.’’

Andrew Rein, the president of the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan group, said the spending plan “hamstrings the next administration with sizable future budget gaps, plus looming fiscal challenges when federal funds are depleted and labor contracts are negotiated.”

But Mr. de Blasio said the budget reflected the needs of New Yorkers as the city recovers from one of its biggest crises in recent memory.

“We made it a purpose to redistribute wealth to working people,” the mayor said. “It’s as simple as that.”

Not all representatives of city workers were pleased. Henry Garrido, the president of District Council 37, the largest public sector union, said he was unhappy that the budget did not offer an early retirement incentive, saying that many municipal employees “kept the city running during its toughest time” amid the pandemic.

Mr. de Blasio said now was not the time to encourage experienced city workers to depart.

The mayor and speaker seemed both celebratory and wistful as they wrapped up their last budget.

And, perhaps underscoring a far different mood than last year, the budget deal did not end with just the typical handshake. Instead Mr. de Blasio and Mr. Johnson shook hands, then hugged and finally extended high-fives.