Mayor Adams announces $90 million for school programs after slashing city budget months ago
NEW YORK -- First police and firefighters, then trash cans. Now, Mayor Eric Adams is restoring cuts to popular school programs.
Friday, the mayor and members of his administration announced another pullback from unpopular budget cuts announced just months ago to deal with the migrant crisis.
"Today I'm happy to announce that we will be able to restore funding and invest new city dollars in our young people and the programs across the city that help them succeed," said Adams.
The mayor restored $10 million in cuts to the community schools program for schools that work with community organizations to help students and their families with a range of activities, including health care counseling and adult education classes.
He also announced $80 million in new funding for the Summer Rising program, a combination of academics and camp activities that also provides meals for students.
It was the third time this week the mayor undid relatively small money cuts he said were vital in helping the city pay for the nearly 170,000 migrants who have arrived here so far.
"We are not out of the woods and our desire to look at some of these restorations, we do not want it to be taken as a signal that the city is out of the woods. We are not. We still have a $7 billion budget gap," said Adams.
The mayor will unveil his new financial plan on Tuesday.
While Adams is preaching budget poverty, Patrick Hendry, the head of the police union, said he hopes the mayor sees his way clear to make other restorations to the NYPD, which lost 3,000 officers last year.
"In precincts across the city where we normally turn out six to eight patrol cars, right now we're turning out two to three patrol cars in those communities on a given tour," said Hendry.
Hendry said the NYPD has 7,000 fewer cops than at its peak.
"The response times continue to rise. That is the reality of policing right now," he said.
Hendry spoke Friday during an appearance on "The Point with Marcia Kramer." The full interview will air Sunday at 11:30 a.m. on CBS2 and CBS News New York.
