Mayor Spano celebrated his birthday this week, but he’s still waiting for his requested present from Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature: a cool $50–60 million to close a projected deficit in the city’s budget beginning July 1.
It’s been eerily quiet on the budget front for the past month, even as the state budget is now nearly a month overdue. Legislative leaders—including Yonkers’ own Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins—remain locked in negotiations over a roughly $250 billion spending plan.
The holdup, however, has little to do with Yonkers.
Where are Negotiations?
Instead, negotiations have bogged down over a mix of policy disputes, many only tangentially related to local budgets. Among the unresolved issues:
- The level of additional aid to New York City to address a projected $5.4 billion deficit
- Changes to criminal discovery laws governing evidence disclosure
- A tax on expensive second homes of the super-rich
- Delays for meeting climate change, carbon emissions targets
- Ongoing spending tied to migrant services
- Incentives and approvals for new housing construction
- Uber supported, insurance liability reforms
- Expansion of public employee pension benefits
In New York, the budget is never just about money. It’s the only time each year when the Legislature has leverage to force action on contentious policy issues. Once the budget passes, that leverage disappears—and so does the likelihood of agreement.
For instance, this year, one of the sticking points concerns criminal justice policy. The governor is backing changes sought by prosecutors to ease strict requirements on how quickly and completely evidence must be turned over to defense attorneys. Many legislators, however, view those rules as central to the fairness of the criminal justice system and are resisting any meaningful rollback. That kind of ideological divide is hard to reconcile—and it’s a major reason the budget remains unresolved.
Uber Drivers Lobby
In another policy related matter, Mayor Spano actually went to Albany to lobby on behalf of insurance reform to limit drivers’ liability for damage awards. The position is supported by Governor Hochul and Uber, which has spent millions in a lobbying campaign to support the effort. Trial lawyers, another powerful lobby and traditional core of Democratic support, have opposed. One can only wonder if this may have been part of an understanding that Spano has with the governor in return for an increase in state aid, but we can only hope.
So where does all of this leave Yonkers?
Like it or not, Yonkers’ fate is probably tied to New York City. A strong downstate economy benefits both—and Albany knows it. That’s why Yonkers’ request for increased aid is likely to be considered in the context of whatever deal emerges for NYC. If the city receives substantial support, it improves the odds Yonkers will as well.
But the Mayor and Yonkers residents should be wary.
Current signals out of Albany suggest NYC may receive roughly $1.5 billion—far short of what it needs to close its gap. Yonkers is likely to face a similar outcome. The city is unlikely to receive the full $50–60 million it has requested.
That may leave Yonkers with few good options: drawing down reserves, raising taxes, or cutting services and personnel.
Brace yourselves.
