NYC's Already-Record Next Proposed Budget Is Now $106.7 Billion

NEW YORK CITY — Mayor Eric Adams won't PEG important city services in his massive $106.7 billion executive budget for next year.

Let us explain.

Adams unveiled Wednesday an updated proposed budget for 2024 that stands at $4 billion more than the record spending plan he drafted after the New Year.

He said his so-called "Program to Eliminate the Gap" — or PEG — was successful in its mission to reduce costs across city agencies and yielded $1.6 billion in savings. FDNY, parks, sanitation and several other departments will thus be spared full PEG cuts in the budget, he said.

"We did not cut budgets for the sake of cutting," he said.

But Adams acknowledged several challenges in the next year, most notably a projected $4.3 billion cost for asylum seekers who have been streaming into the city.

The city has more than 35,000 migrants living in shelters and relief centers, he said.

"We expect this population will more than double and hit over 70,000 by June 2024," he said.

Adams said the projected cost for asylum seekers are part of $10 billion in added costs with which the city has to contend. Another sizable cost —$4 billion, to be precise — came in the form of labor settlements to provide fair wages, he said.

State and federal officials will provide some funding, but it'll likely only cover 37 percent of the cost for asylum seekers, Adams said.

Another potential fly in the ointment came in the form of library funding.

Adams kicked off the day by saying libraries would be spared the latest round of PEG cuts, and repeated later that no one "penny" would be taken from their budget. But he acknowledged later that the city's three library systems still fell under earlier cuts, which officials said tallied a total of $36.2 million.

Such a shortfall could force libraries to close on weekends, officials said.