The view from the top? We balanced the budget.

Added: 2026-05-17

[00:00:00]New York, it's executive budget season, and I'm proud to announce that our city's budget is fully balanced. This budget isn't just about numbers on a page. It determines if our libraries get funded, if a street is safe to cross, if snow is actually shoveled after a storm.

[00:00:13]And you deserve to know exactly how we got here. We inherited a 12 billion budget deficit. We are speaking about a fiscal crisis at the scale greater than the Great Recession. Was the Great Recession. Great recession. Many said the only way out of this was slashing services and passing an austerity budget. We rejected that. After months of painstaking work, that deficit is now zero. Our city is now on firm financial ground. We achieved this in two major ways. Increasing revenue and support from Albany and cutting waste and finding savings here in New York City.

[00:00:43]Thanks to Governor Hokll, State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl Hasty, and months of organizing from New Yorkers, we tax the rich.

[00:00:52]That tax alone will raise half a billion dollars per year. And that's not all.

[00:00:55]Thanks to Governor Hokll and our partners in Albany, we finally got a better deal for New York City. We're getting billions more from the state to help tackle the gap. At the same time, we've been pouring over the city budget to identify savings. We reduced unnecessary overtime and found smarter ways for government to deliver services.

[00:01:10]This all added up to $1.77 billion in total savings. Our budget isn't just about closing deficits. It's about building a city New Yorkers can actually afford. On day eight of our administration, we announced a historic partnership with Governor Hokll to finally deliver universal childcare.

[00:01:25]That's $1.2 billion in new funding from Albany. And this was just the beginning.

[00:01:29]Investments in citywide trash containerization, cheaper groceries, safer streets, relief for taxi drivers are all on the way. And we're increasing funding for libraries, parks, and cultural institutions. I promise to make sure you were part of this budget process every step of the way. This is your city. These are your tax dollars.

[00:01:45]And this budget should reflect your priorities. We're proud to put forward a budget for the working people of this city and we're going to do it again next year and next year and next year and next year and next