Since day one in every of our administration, our mission has been to make New York Metropolis a safer, extra reasonably priced metropolis that’s the greatest place to boost a household. Final week, our crew and I visited Albany to advocate for funding and laws in order that we are able to proceed to meet that mission and maintain delivering for working-class New Yorkers.
We centered on 4 key areas. First, passing our “Axe the Tax for the Working Class” laws to make life extra reasonably priced for working-class New Yorkers. This plan eliminates or cuts metropolis private earnings taxes for low-income New Yorkers at a second when our state faces a historic affordability disaster. We anticipate that “Axe the Tax” will generate a mean advantage of $350, placing a complete of greater than $63 million again into the pockets of low-income households — serving to greater than 582,000 New Yorkers. Making New York Metropolis extra reasonably priced for working-class households strengthens our metropolis and advantages us all.
Second, we known as on Albany to cross the “Supportive Interventions Act” to lastly enable folks with extreme psychological sickness to get the lasting help they want. I’ve been very clear: our subways are usually not a hospital and the times of ignoring folks in want are over. The Supportive Interventions Act will assist guarantee folks get the care they want till they’re really prepared for discharge and obtain “assisted outpatient treatment” afterwards in the event that they want ongoing help.
Third, we advocated for reforming legal guidelines so we are able to proceed to guard defendants’ rights, whereas bettering the effectivity of our felony justice system. We should do extra to make sure repeat offenders are really held accountable in order that we are able to maintain our communities protected.
And, lastly, we requested persevering with monetary help to handle the worldwide asylum seeker worldwide disaster that has landed at our metropolis’s entrance door. Though our proactive measures have helped scale back the variety of asylum seekers in our care from a excessive of 69,000 in January 2024 to lower than 47,000 in the present day, we’ve nonetheless spent greater than $7 billion to look after newcomers over simply three fiscal years and anticipate spending billions extra within the years to return.
All our asks of Governor Hochul and the state Legislature construct on our administration’s observe file of success. Final yr, we celebrated back-to-back record-breaking years for producing and connecting New Yorkers with new, reasonably priced houses. We additionally handed our “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” plan — probably the most important pro-housing reform in our metropolis’s historical past. Governor Hochul and the state’s help, mixed with our generational zoning reforms, will result in the creation of over 80,000 new houses over the subsequent 15 years throughout each neighborhood all through the 5 boroughs. That is key to creating New York Metropolis extra reasonably priced and livable for working-class households.
However we all know the price of residing throughout our metropolis continues to be too excessive. Working-class New Yorkers should additionally be capable to afford groceries, medication, transportation, and different requirements. Each penny counts for our households. To assist them, we’ve helped put greater than $30 billion again into the pockets of working-class folks.
At the same time as we struggle for a greater future, our metropolis stays sturdy and continues to make progress. Crime is down, each on our streets and within the subways. In 2024, homicides and shootings lowered for the third consecutive yr — and are each down double digits since we got here into workplace. Furthermore, our January crime statistics are actually out, and for the second month in a row, general crime in our metropolis is down by double digits.
We additionally at present have an all-time excessive variety of jobs in our metropolis after we broke the file for probably the most jobs in New York Metropolis’s historical past for the eighth time over the course of our administration. And — that is essential — unemployment has dropped in all demographics, with Black and Hispanic unemployment each down greater than 20 % since we got here into workplace.
Regardless of these wins, we acknowledge there’s extra work to be accomplished. We’ll proceed to work with Governor Hochul and the state Legislature within the struggle to make New York a safer, extra reasonably priced metropolis, and the most effective place to dwell and lift a household for generations to return.
