Are severe budget cuts a side effect of
New York City’s coronavirus epidemic?
BY TODD MAISEL
As stimulus money is
set to flow to New
York City and the
mayor eyes it as ‘insuffi cient,’
do draconian budget cuts loom
for city agencies?
On March 26, Mayor Bill de
Blasio said at his daily press
briefi ng on the coronavirus
crisis that his priority will be
to make sure that the health
system is fully funded, and all
supplies that health workers
need is properly provided.
The mayor said he envisions
billions in cuts for the
city budget, but said they will
not affect vital services such as
police, fi re, emergency medical
services, or the health care
system to treat people with
coronavirus.
However, de Blasio would
not rule out other cuts, but
would not say whether that
included the possibility of
municipal layoffs.
“We are trying to fi gure out
the full effect as the stimulus
doesn’t fi gure the billions we
need to keep the budget balanced
in this city,” de Blasio
said. “We believe this should
be part of the stimulus bill. We
are the epicenter of this crisis
and our part of the funding is
as much as some states who
don’t have any where near as
many cases as we have.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio in a screen shot from his video conference with the media.
De Blasio said they would
look for every cut they could
fi nd, but at this time, he would
not specify what those cuts
might look like. He also would
not say for certain if it might
include layoffs.
Senate Democratic Leader
Charles Schumer waved off
pointed criticism by Governor
Andrew Cuomo aimed at the
Senate’s $2 trillion coronavirus
relief bill. Earlier on March 26,
Cuomo said the state’s share
of the package is far short of
what’s needed to fi x the state’s
fi nancial woes.
At this time, New York
state will receive $5 billion
of the $2 trillion package, but
Schumer was quick to point
out that other money needed
to go to small businesses, the
unemployed, hospitals and
nurses taking care of the sick.
He also said $4 billion would
go towards aiding mass transit,
exactly what was requested.
Schumer said the total package
would amount of $100
billion for the state when all is
counted.
City Comptroller Scott
Stringer said last week that
loss of tax revenue could be
between $5-6 billion, and
would blow a huge hole in the
city budget. He said that could
result in a 7% reduction in
revenue for the city.
“The COVID-19 pandemic
is already putting an enormous
fi nancial strain on our
city’s workers as millions of
New Yorkers grapple with
the uncertainty of their next
paycheck, paying rent, and
taking care of their families,”
Stringer said in a statement.
“At the same time, the massive
slowdown of our city’s
economy is going to result in
substantial losses of the tax
revenue that keep this city
running.”
Currently, there are 21,173
people in New York State with
coronavirus and there have
been 281 deaths related to the
contagion.
Hudson River Park paths open, sports fields closed
BY GRANT LANCASTER
Hudson River Park remains open,
but many services have been closed
down to help prevent the spread of
COVID-19 coronavirus.
The riverside park, which is operated
by a public benefit trust, has closed
all basketball and tennis courts, skate
parks, and dog runs, as well as athletic
fields and playgrounds. All scheduled
programming has been canceled until
at least April 30.
Drop-off sites for HRPK Community
Compost food scraps are closed,
and restrooms at Pier 40 Courtyard
are closed.
Park officials encourage New Yorkers
to use the four miles of waterfront
paths as long as they practice safe social
distancing.
FILE PHOTO
Prez primary
postponed
till June 23
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
The April 28 presidential primary has
been pushed back to June 23 due to
the coronavirus epidemic, Governor
Andrew Cuomo announced Saturday.
“I don’t think it’s wise to bring people to
one location to vote” in late April, Cuomo
said. He cited the potential risk of new
coronavirus infections with large numbers
of people going to the polls and sharing
pens and polling booths while casting their
ballots.
The primary — with the main contest
being the Democratic party race between
former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont
Senator Bernie Sanders — will now coincide
with state legislative and Congressional primaries
set for June 23.
As it happens, Cuomo said, that’s what
he preferred all along. Long before the outbreak
happened, he had called upon the state
legislature to pass legislation holding all of
the primaries on a single day — but it never
materialized.
REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST
Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential
candidates Senator Bernie Sanders
and former Vice President Joe Biden
brush hands as they have an exchange
in the tenth Democratic 2020 presidential
debate at the Gaillard Center
in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
February 25, 2020.
It’s not clear how this will impact the
Democratic nomination contest. As of this
moment, Biden has a solid delegate lead over
Sanders; the former vice president has 1,217
while the senator has 914. The fi rst candidate
to 1,991 delegates will win the nomination
outright.
Meanwhile, Cuomo also announced Saturday
that the state has moved its tax fi ling
deadline to July 15, which coincides with the
new federal tax fi ling date. That gives selfisolated
residents and businesses more time
to fi le their taxes, but it comes at a heavy cost
for state government; Cuomo said the state
would lose additional tax revenue as a result
of the change.
4 April 2, 2020 Schneps Media