News

The budget is a breath of fresh air and a solid foundation for a city government that finally works for everyday people — we will keep fighting to fund more in the care and affordability agenda. 

The Safety Not Censorship Coalition, made up of 100+ organizations and unions, forced major changes to Intro 929. But the bill the Council will vote on next week is still built on a premise we reject: that students speaking up for change at their own schools are a security threat to be managed.

While the Mayor’s Executive Budget was a welcome reprieve after years of austerity budgets, there remain gaps in the budget that will let real New Yorkers fall through the cracks. It is unacceptable that the City plans to keep funding Department of Corrections vacancies, hire over 580 new police officers, and write a blank check to NYPD overtime while essential programs go unfunded.

"Today the Speaker chose not to call the override vote on Intro 175-B — and that is not an accident," said Zara Nasir, Executive Director of The People's Plan NYC, on behalf of the Safety Not Censorship Coalition. "The Speaker and Council Member Dinowitz couldn't call this vote because thousands of New Yorkers made sure they didn't have the votes to win it today. That's what organizing looks like."

"We're relieved to see the deficit closed through state contributions and a pied-à-terre tax on wealthy second home owners. The Mayor and partners at the state level, as well as thousands of New Yorkers and hundreds of organizations and unions, have fought hard to ensure NYC has a stable financial foundation for FY27,” said Zara Nasir, Executive Director of The People’s Plan. “We're proud to see many of our priorities reflected in this executive budget proposal— but as New Yorkers grapple with a historic affordability crisis, our work isn't done."

As the Mayor released his budget today, The People’s Budget Coalition, run by The People’s Plan NYC, is pleased to see key items of our spending agenda were funded or in progress to being funded.

Governor Kathy Hochul’s continued inaction on taxing the rich will hurt New Yorkers. The City cannot close a $5.4 billion budget gap through cuts and efficiencies alone without harming working-class communities. The math doesn’t work and the Governor’s approach makes clear whose side she’s on. We urge Governor Hochul and state leaders to act now to reduce the PTET credit and go further to tax the rich and ensure the wealthiest corporations and New Yorkers pay their fair share.

“At a time when dissent is under attack nationwide, New York should be protecting free speech, not restricting it,” said Zara Nasir, Executive Director of The People’s Plan NYC, on behalf of the Safety Not Censorship Coalition. “Mayor Mamdani made the right decision by vetoing Intro 175-B. This bill would have given the NYPD sweeping power to suppress protest across the city and would have had a chilling effect on free speech, and put students, immigrants, and communities that are already over-policed more at risk. We now urge City Council members to sustain the veto and vote no to keep our communities safe as they exercise their rights.”