NYPD won’t have to deal with budget cuts after all, Adams says

Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday that the city had restored funding to the New York Police Department and would add 600 recruits in April, a reversal of the dire warning he issued in November that there would be a hiring freeze.

Mayor Adams said “better-than-expected tax revenues” and lower spending to care for migrants who have arrived in the thousands have allowed the city to avoid cuts to both the police and fire departments.

The recruits will join three classes already graduating this year, “which means there will be thousands of additional officers on the streets under this administration in 2024,” Mayor Adams said during a news conference at City Hall.

“More police officers means safer streets, safer subways and a safer New York City,” he said.

When the mayor announced the hiring freeze in November, some in New York politics said they found it difficult to believe that Mr. Adams, a former police commissioner who has tied his identity to the department, would continue with the cuts. They wondered whether the mayor’s warnings were an attempt to get President Biden’s attention on the migrant crisis or a negotiating tactic during the annual budget dance with the City Council.

Justin Brannan, a Brooklyn councilman and chairman of the Finance Committee, said Mr. Adams’ announcement Wednesday “doesn’t fit the math.”

“Suddenly, the mayor has found himself cash-strapped, with irrationally varying explanations and figures, eroding the credibility of his narrative that the city has an insurmountable budget hole that requires excessive cuts,” he said in a statement.

The government has also reversed plans to eliminate one firefighter from each of the city’s twenty five-person engine companies. Union leaders represent firefighters had protested against the proposed cuts last fall, warning that they would strike in winter, when house fires tend to increase. At the time, Commissioner Laura Kavanagh defended the cuts in an interview with ABC7 News, saying the fifth position was not required under the city’s contract with firefighters, and that the city would be no less safe without it.

But on Wednesday, Commissioner Kavanagh said call volume had increased and firefighters were “busier than ever,” echoing many points the union made last fall. She also said climate change was causing more weather events, putting even more pressure on fire services.

The city needs “the additional experienced staff and resources to address some of these new challenges we are facing,” she said during the news conference. “This will do just that.”

In November, unions raised concerns about proposed cuts to public safety, which would have reduced the number of police officers below 30,000 for the first time since the 1980s.

In a statement on Wednesday, Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association, said that while he was relieved to hear about the new class of recruits, the department was experiencing a “staffing crisis.”

“Nearly 3,000 additional officers quit or retired last year,” he said. “Those left behind are past their breaking point.”

Last fall, the Adams administration said rising costs from the migrant crisis and a $7 billion hole in the 2024 budget would require painful cuts to city agencies.

The Ministry of Education budget would be cut by $1 billion over two years. The cuts would also extend to programs like summer school and universal preschool.

The city’s three public library systems were forced to close nearly all of their branches on Sundays last month after the government cut their budgets by 5 percent. Library leaders were told they would have to make cuts of another 5 percent by 2024 and are now concerned they will have to end Saturday service in many branches.

“Public libraries and the essential services we provide are a lifeline for many New Yorkers and remain committed to continuing to serve our communities as best we can during these challenging times,” the libraries said in a statement last month.

Mayor Adams declined to say Wednesday whether other agencies, including libraries and schools, would receive the same assistance as police and fire departments.

He said Jacques Jiha, the city’s budget director, would provide an update on Tuesday and “give us a deep dive.”

“I don’t want to take away his thunder,” Mr. Adams said. “He’s going to go into depth about that.”

Mr. Brannan, the city council member, wondered why the mayor couldn’t also say he would restore funding for schools, libraries and the Civilian Complaint Review Board, which investigates complaints about police misconduct.

“This is not good government or budget management, and it should leave New Yorkers with more questions than answers,” he said. “People deserve better and fairer accounting of the financial challenges we face.”

Emma G. Fitzsimmons And Jeffery C Mays reporting contributed.