On June 30, Mayor Eric Adams and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams came to an official agreement on New York City’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget. The City Council’s Budget Negotiation Team, of which I am a member of, spent hundreds of hours in meetings and hearings to negotiate a budget that is restorative of last November’s cuts, and also protects critical funding that serves New Yorker’s everyday needs.
Under the leadership of Speaker Adams we were steadfast in fighting to deliver the services our communities need even with large budget cuts coming from the administration. Some highlights in the citywide budget include: $150 million for a cost of living adjustment for non-profit workers, $36.2 million for public libraries, $32.9 million for NYCHA’s Vacant Unit Readiness Program, $32.4 million restored to CUNY, $20 million to expand the fair fares program and so much more. This budget agreement not only provides money for citywide services, it also funds community organizations that serve our district and funds upgrades for our local infrastructure.
In this year’s budget, I delivered $14.55 million in capital funds and $3.435 million in discretionary funds for Council District 18. The full $14.55 million capital allocation is for local infrastructure upgrades, which includes more than $1.5 million for a branch renovation at the Castle Hill Library, $365,000 for new science labs at five schools in District 18, $250,000 for new computers at four schools, $792,000 for an exclusive BioBus for all Bronx students, and $9 million to begin renovations at Harding Park and Space Time Playground.
I also fought hard to deliver more than $600,000 to trusted community organizations. Thanks to Speaker Adams, we allocated $200,000 for the great programming Phipps has across the district, including at the Sotomayor Community Center, $200,000 for the Castle Hill and Westchester Square Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), $50,000 for Castle Hill YMCA, nearly $20,000 for family day celebrations at each NYCHA campus and more.
To further support our seniors, I am providing a total of $418,000 across a number of programs including $25,000 for Older Adults Technology Services (OATS), $25,000 for Volunteers of America to support veteran services, and $225,000 to R.A.I.N for older adult services at Holy Family’s Mechler Hall and their Parkchester center. I hope this culmination of programming and services across the district ensures the older adults of District 18 remain healthy, happy and engaged.
Throughout this last year you may have seen ACE members around your neighborhood wearing bright red shirts and cleaning up our streets. ACE did such an outstanding job last year helping to keep Castle Hill and Clason Point’s streets and sidewalks clean, I have increased their funding this year to $125,000 to serve the entire district! I also provided funding for maintenance initiatives at the Waterfront Community Garden and for Stevenson High School’s unused green space.
Lastly, I have paid huge attention to our youth with more than $1 million in funding across 57 different organizations — all of which provide a broad range of programming to serve the diverse needs of students of all ages. Some highlights include: $190,000 to our local Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club, more than $170,000 to STEM programs, $63,500 to athletic programs, $395,000 to arts programs and $340,000 to free after-school opportunities.
Over this last year, my office has seen an increased need for services for our young people, seniors and women, alongside a need for increased access to healthy food, community safety and the beautification of our public spaces. That is why I made sure to prioritize these six important issues in this year’s budget.
To learn more about my local budget allocations, visit my website https://council.nyc.gov/district-18/ or check out the breakdown on my instagram at @CMAmandaFarias.
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