FY 2027 Budget Adoption
City Council · June 30, 2026 · 2hrs 52m
Source: https://hearinghearings.nyc/hearings/city-council-fy-2027-budget-adoption-2026-06-30/
Video: https://councilnyc.viebit.com/watch?hash=rklmUg9AjnSvpL6j

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Council members, please take your seats. Ladies and gentlemen, at this time please place all electronic devices to vibrate.

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Majority Leader, it is all yours. Good afternoon and welcome to the Stated Meeting of June 30, 2026. I am Majority Leader Shaun Abreu. I would like to thank you for joining us. As a reminder, the Council must be respected at all times. If you would like to follow along, the agenda for today's meeting is posted on our website. On behalf of the body, I welcome the members of the public who have joined us today. During Stated Meetings, only members of the Council speak. Members of the public shall remain silent. If you wish to express your support of any remarks, you may make the silent approval gesture. Thank you. Please join us for the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call.

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Aldebol here. Ariola. Avilés. Banks here. Brewer. Brooks-Powers present. Cabán present. De La Rosa here. Dinowitz here. Encarnación present. Epstein present. Farías present. Felder. Feliz here. Gennaro here. Ariola present. Gutiérrez. Hanif here. Hankerson here. Hanks present. Hudson present. Joseph here. Krishnan here. Lee here. Louis present. Maloney present. Marte present. Mealy. Morano here. Narcisse present. Nurse. Ossé here. Paladino here. Restler here. Riley present. Salaam present. Sanchez. Justin Sanchez. Santosuosso here. Schulman here. Stevens here. Thomas-Henry present. Ung present. Vernikov. Williams present. Wilson here. Won here. Wong here. Brooks-Powers. Carr present. Held here. Zhuang here. Speaker Menin.

Approved with Modifications and Referred to the City Planning

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Here. There is no invocation today, so I would like to ask CM Feliz for the adoption of minutes. Thank you. I would like to make a motion that the minutes of the Stated Meeting held on June 11, 2026 be adopted as printed. Messages and papers from the Mayor: none. Communications from City, County and Borough offices. Preconsidered M 0080 through Preconsidered M 0083: referred to Finance. Petitions and communications: none. Land use calls M 0080 through M 0083. Thank you. I would like to ask the clerk to take a roll call vote on today's land use items. Call it. Excuse me.

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Aldebol. Avilés, I. Banks, I. Brewer, I. Brooks-Powers, I. Cabán, I. De La Rosa, I. Dinowitz, I. Encarnación, I. Epstein, yes. Farías, I. Felder. Feliz, I. Gennaro, I. Gutiérrez, I. Hanif. Hanks, I. Hudson, I. Joseph, I. Krishnan, I. Lee, I. Louis, I. Maloney, I. Marte, I. Mealy, I. Morano, I. Narcisse, I. Nurse, I. Ossé, I. Paladino, I. Restler, I. Riley, I. Salaam, I. Justin Sanchez, I. Pierina Sanchez, I. Santosuosso, I. Schulman, I. Stevens, I. Thomas-Henry, I. Ung, I. Vernikov. Williams, I. Wilson, I. Won, I. Wong, I. Brooks-Powers. Carr, I. Menin, I. Speaker Menin. All right, today's land use items are adopted by a vote of 51 in the affirmative and none in the

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negative. Thank you. And I have from Speaker

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Julie Menin. Good afternoon, or rather, good evening, everyone. Happy budget day!

First of all, I want to thank our incredible finance team who have been here night after night after night for their amazing work during the budget process. I particularly want to thank all the Council members, particularly our Finance Chair Linda Lee, the budget negotiating team and Council leadership. I want to thank our Finance Director Nathan Top. Thank you so much for your incredible work. I want to thank my whole senior team: Meg, Alina, Camilo, Jonathan, Simone Jones, Priya Chibber, Trey. Special shout out to Paul, Shimon and Olivia De Luca. Thank you so much.

This is a budget that secures the most ever capital and expense funding for the City Council in its history, while also demonstrating at the same time prudent fiscal responsibility. I want to briefly highlight a few transformative investments that we are doing in this budget that meaningfully tackle the affordability crisis. With a substantial investment to sensibly expand housing vouchers, we are helping to keep thousands more families in their homes and out of shelters. In addition to the investment, we reached a truly historic agreement on City FHEPS with the administration, and I just want to take a moment to talk about it. They have agreed to something we have asked for since the beginning, and I particularly want to thank CM Pierina Sanchez for her leadership on this. Thank you so much.

We were able to get the administration to drop the lawsuit against the Council, which is something that we were insisting on, and at the same time engage in a settlement where we will be voting today on a new Bill sponsored by CM Sanchez to restructure housing vouchers so that we ensure that we are housing vulnerable New Yorkers, but we are doing it in a way that is truly sustainable. That is historic. We also held the line on this expansion of the vouchers, and I want to thank all the Council members who joined in holding the line on that. We also expanded eligibility for Fair Fares to residents earning up to 200% of the federal poverty level, making public transportation more affordable for nearly all working New Yorkers whether they are taking the subway, the bus or the ferry. This is the largest expansion of Fair Fares in City Council history.

The Council is also enhancing Kids Rise to provide a college savings account with $1,000 for every single public school kindergartener in New York City. This is the largest college savings program that any city has ever done. It can be used for vocational school, it can be used for a two-year community college, it can be used for a four-year college, and it is truly transformative because studies show that low-income children who have a college savings account are three times more likely to go on to higher education. Just as importantly, they are likely to earn almost double the wages during the course of their lifetime as someone who does not have that college savings account. If we truly want to tackle income inequality, this is one of the single best ways we can do so.

We also fought for programs that support mental health, swim safety and home-delivered meals. We fought for our children to bolster their opportunities at a good education. We fought for our seniors to help them age in place with dignity. We fought to fully fund our libraries to the highest ever levels. I just want to say that this budget funds the libraries at the highest levels ever, and it also funds an increase to build on our project that we put out a couple of weeks ago to build 100% affordable housing on some public libraries throughout the City. Because our City is also the world's cultural capital, we are investing $20 million more in cultural institutions. To provide more people with a path to justice, we fully restored funding for a range of legal service providers, including immigrant legal service providers, which is so critically important, particularly at this time. To support the management of clean parks, we are restoring $14.4 million in baseline funding. To support Black homeownership, we secured more than $5 million in funding for deed theft prevention programs and legal counseling.

Even with these life-changing investments, we ensured that our City is on a firm financial footing and we were able to push for more funds for the rainy day fund, something that we have been doing since day one of this budget negotiation. So I am thrilled to say that an additional $350 million has been set aside for the rainy day fund, because it is our duty to the people of our City to deliver a balanced and responsible budget not just for next year, but for many

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years to come. To further the spirit of good governance, our adopted budget includes a record 75 Council terms and conditions that advance transparency by mandating agency reporting. Associated with spending, the 11 brand new Council terms and conditions cover important topics like child care vouchers, Fair Fares, HPD conversions, citywide contracts and clubhouses and many other items. This budget is truly a win for New Yorkers who deserve affordability, stability and opportunity and a government devoted to delivering all three. So I just want to say congratulations to all the Council members and to all our staff at the City Council on this historic win.

We have a few more things to celebrate. I want to wish an early happy birthday to CM Linda Lee, whose birthday is on the third. She has been working so hard she forgot it was her birthday. And to CM Amanda Farías, whose birthday is on the ninth. We have one more birthday to acknowledge. This Saturday, Simba is very excited about the birthday. Okay. Thank you, Simba. So we have one more birthday to acknowledge: our nation's birthday. This Saturday will mark 250 years since the Second Continental Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence. I hope that as we spend a day off with our families, we also think about the meaning of this milestone and that it is up to us to decide where our nation will go from here.

This past weekend, I was proud to join many Council members as we participated in the Pride March. We marched right past the Stonewall Inn, where 57 years ago LGBTQ+ New Yorkers firmly defended their right to love. The Council stands with the queer community and we will continue to protect the civil rights of all. Ahead of tomorrow, July is Disability Pride Month, where we recognize the countless contributions that disabled residents past and present have made to our City. As New Yorkers, we truly know that diversity is our strength, including diversity of ability.

Finally, I would like to welcome the government advocacy fellows from the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation who are here. Hello, fellows. Thank you so much for joining us. There is no better way to learn about City government than to see it up close and personal for yourself. So thank you to CM Dinowitz for providing this opportunity.

Now let us move on to our Stated agenda. First, we are going to vote on a $125.8 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2027. Next, we will vote on the following finance items. Preconsidered resolution sponsored by CM Lee approving the new designation and changes in the designation of certain organizations to receive funding in the expense budget. Preconsidered resolutions also sponsored by CM Lee establishing that the interest rate be 6% per annum for Fiscal Year 2027 for non-payment of taxes on properties with an assessed value of up to $250,000, and 9% for properties with an assessed value of more than $250,000 but not more than $450,000. A preconsidered resolution also sponsored by CM Lee establishing that the interest rate be 2.5% per annum for Fiscal Year 2027 for certain properties for which the owner has entered into an installment payment agreement with the Department of Finance for payment of delinquent property taxes, assessments or other charges.

Today we will also vote on the following pieces of legislation. Res 0069-2026, sponsored by CM Tiffany Cabán, would oppose President Trump's executive order restricting protections for transgender students and call on the New York State Department of Education to ensure that all schools in New York City continue to uphold policies that protect the rights and dignity of trans and gender nonconforming students, regardless of federal directives. Thank you to staff Elizabeth Arts. Res 0143-2026-A, sponsored by CM Kevin Riley, would call on the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign legislation that would create unlimited transfers within the two-hour period of paying the subway or bus fare for pay-per-ride users. Thank you to Sierra Townsend, Taylor Miller, Kevin Kukowski and John...

To celebrate the amazing 2026 champion New York Knicks, we are passing three resolutions. Yeah! Thank you. We have got this side of the room as a much better cheering section than this side of the room. I will

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just say, okay.

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Preconsidered resolution sponsored by myself would celebrate the New York Knicks as they won the 2026 championship. Yeah! Okay, okay, okay. Preconsidered resolution sponsored by CM Virginia Maloney would declare June 13 as New York Knicks Day in the City to celebrate the contributions of the world-class basketball team to the City's culture and civic identity. Please keep it down in the chamber. Thank you to Regina Paul.

Then, preconsidered resolution sponsored by our Deputy Speaker, Dr. Nantasha Williams, calls for famed New York City locations to be ceremonially named for one year in honor of our Knicks: Fifth Avenue in Manhattan as Knicks Five Fifth Avenue, Broadway in Manhattan as Brunson Victory Boulevard, Victory Boulevard in Staten Island as Captain Clutch Boulevard, Knickerbocker Avenue in Brooklyn as Alvarado Avenue, Times Square in Manhattan as Town Square, Queens Boulevard in Queens as Hart Boulevard, the Brooklyn Bridge as Bridges Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge as Anunoby Bridge, the Williamsburg Bridge as Coach Brown Bridge and lastly, the Bronx River as Green River. Thank you to Christopher Sartori and Patrick Mulvihill.

In honor of the United States of America's 250th anniversary, we will also pass a slate of resolutions. Preconsidered resolution sponsored by CM James Gennaro would commemorate the pivotal political and military role of New York City in the birth of the United States 250 years ago. Thank you to Regina Paul. Preconsidered resolution sponsored by CM Christopher Marte would celebrate the historical documents that contributed to the birth of the United States of America and are on display at the New York Public Library as part of the nation's 250th anniversary events. Thank you to Regina Paul. Preconsidered resolution sponsored by CM Rita Joseph calls on the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign legislation to amend the Education Law to require instruction on the history, contributions and experiences of people of African descent in public schools. Thank you, Chloe Rivera. Res 0015-2026, sponsored by CM Joann Ariola, would declare July 2 annually in the City of New York as Freedom Day to commemorate the anniversary of the vote of the Second Continental Congress to declare independence from Great Britain in 1776. Thank you to Regina Paul. Res 0005-2026, sponsored by myself and Minority Leader David Carr, would commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Thank you to Regina Paul.

Preconsidered introduction sponsored by Majority Leader Shaun Abreu would rename 103 thoroughfares and public places in our City. Thank you to Chris Sartori, Patrick Mulvihill, Michael Sherman and Owen Kotowski. Int 0859-2026-A, sponsored by CM Brewer, would specify the process to be used by the Department of Records and Information Services to comply with existing law requiring the posting of biographical information for the subjects of name changes of streets and parks when no biographical information can be found in the legislative record. Thank you to Chris Sartori, Patrick Mulvihill, Michael Sherman and Owen Kotowski. Int 0092-2026-A, also sponsored by CM Brewer, would permit the Department of Sanitation and any department designated by the City to place a sticker no larger than 8.5 by 11 inches to be

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Specific on the window with any motor vehicle as a method of enforcing alternate side parking rules. Thank you to Morgan Barrett. Introduction 580, sponsored by CM Jennifer Gutiérrez, would create an Office of Child Care and Early Childhood Education to work with the Mayor in planning and implementing childcare for any child who resides in the City at no cost to parent, stepparent, guardian or relative. Thank you to Julia Goldsmith Pinkham. Introduction 310, sponsored by Majority Leader Abreu, would expand the categories of establishments that can be designated by DSNY to be subject to requirements regarding separation and disposal of organic waste. It would also require DSNY to designate additional covered establishments by December 1, 2026. Thank you to Morgan Barrett and Audrey San.

Introduction 15 would prohibit acquiring a subsequent background check of an individual for the purposes of working in a center-based child care program if they have already completed a background check, unless the individual has not been employed by a child care provider in the City for more than 180 consecutive days in the past five years, a child care program across the background check, or a background check is otherwise required for purposes of safety. Thank you to Julia Goldsmith Pinkham. Introduction 929, sponsored by Deputy Whip Elsie Encarnación, would require the Police Commissioner to publish a transparency report on the New York City Police Department's plan to address and contain the risk of physical obstruction, physical injury, intimidation and interference at entrances to and exits from certain educational facilities in the City, including through the use of security perimeters. Thank you to Rachel Cadre, Jessica Boo and Josh Kingsley.

Introduction 553, sponsored by CM Avilés, would require that the Department of Small Business Services or another agency as designated by the Mayor establish a small retail business security system program to provide financial assistance to owners of small retail businesses that would reduce the cost of purchasing and installing security system technology. Thank you to Tyler Walls and Rebecca Barilla. Introduction 910, sponsored by CM Althea Stevens, would repeal the requirement originally set in Local Law 75 of 2009 that as of July 2026 all security grilles in Group B or AM buildings permit visibility of at least 70% of the area covered by the grille. Thank you to Tyler Walls, Rebecca Gorilla Malone, Claudie Burnett, William Eckert Spencer and Jose Conde.

And lastly, and certainly not least, Preconsidered Introduction, sponsored by CM Pierina Sanchez, would establish a new rental assistance voucher program for families and individuals, which would be subject to appropriation. To be eligible for the program, households would have a total income that does not exceed 50% of the AMI as well as meet additional eligibility criteria based on the type of shelter or housing in which they reside. Thank you to Andrea Vasquez, Sumita, Nicholas Canal, Jonathan Rosenberg and Julia Harrah.

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Okay, that was it. Thank you for your attention. I am going to turn it back over to our Majority Leader. Thank

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you. Speaker Menin will now move into discussion of general orders, beginning with CM Sanchez, followed by Narcisse. Thank you, Majority

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Leader. My apologies. Thank you, Majority Leader. Before I begin, I want to thank my colleagues, especially Speaker Menin, for your leadership holding the line on this historic win for low-income New Yorkers in our City. I want to thank the Progressive Caucus for uplifting this priority to the Council's leadership, for holding the line and all the Council Members who never gave up on the New Yorkers that they represent, and to the Mayor and his team for staying at the table and getting this to the finish line. I am going to pull a Tiffany. Come on and stand up.

Today's settlement... she even shows me how. Today's settlement, the Fiscal Year 27 budget and this legislation represents a historic agreement that will finally expand housing vouchers for New Yorkers facing homelessness. This is a historic win for vulnerable New Yorkers. We are expanding access, responsibly controlling costs and beginning to shift the Titanic, moving the City away from costly shelter reliance and toward permanent homes, because the status quo does not work. Our City must stop paying more for worse outcomes. It costs $54 a day to keep a family housed with a City FHEPS voucher compared to $270 a day for a family shelter bed. Behind those numbers are children and families. 70% of shelter residents are families with children, thousands of babies — 20,000 babies born in shelter just last year.

With $300 million committed across Fiscal Year 27 and 28, the new program established by Int 0966-2026 will reach New Yorkers excluded from the current City FHEPS program, including households in non-traditional shelter, homeless youth, families displaced by fires or vacate orders and justice-involved New Yorkers. It will support prevention for income-eligible tenants in rent stabilized homes. There will be no work requirement for newly eligible New Yorkers. Homelessness itself is enough of a barrier. This is responsible governance. Funding will be distributed between shelter exits and eviction prevention. We are creating this program because the choice is not between compassion and fiscal discipline. The Council can and must do both. That is what we are doing. Thank you.

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CM Hudson. Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Speaker Menin, for listening when it comes to City Hall and holding the line for real. I truly believe that folks belong in our apartments, not in shelter. Shelter should be a transitional process. So thank you for that and thank you for all your leadership. Your team responded when I called, because I go crazy when people are calling me and addressing the inequities is very important at this time. It is a challenging time with immigration. I am happy for that too. And of course, the street corner namings in my district are so important. Those are folks that worked all their lives. They need to be recognized.

John... legendary Lindsay's Pork Store on... Avenue, open for over 60 years, the same store the father opened back in 1958, and never let the neighborhood go without supporting them. Never let anyone go hungry. That is very important. Fred Wilkins spent almost 40 years answering the call as a volunteer in the Flatlands Volunteer Ambulance Corps, training EMS and saving lives right here in our community. So thank you. I am... taught at 91 for 32 years and never stopped giving after her retirement. 50 years volunteering at... Medical Center, thousands of pads knit by hand for the kids in the community.

And I want to take a moment with the next one, because Qiana Gambino's mom is here, my sisters and I are here to support, and I want to say thank you, because she took the pain and transformed it into helping the community with folks who are going through a cancer process. She was very young, but she never stopped fighting for others. She understood the mission and the vision to help one another. As a registered nurse seeing people suffering with cancer, seeing that young woman doing that, it was amazing. Never too early to be a leader and heal an issue. So well deserved. And I want to fight for this budget with the Speaker. Thank you.

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Thank you, CM Hudson, followed by Banks.

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Thank you. I would like to take a moment to recognize the

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four individuals and communities in District 35 that we are honoring in today's co-naming bill. Edith Motte Young, Bishop Carl E. Williams, Reverend Clinton M. Miller and the Panamanian community of Brooklyn. These co-namings are about more than street signs. They ensure that the people and communities who helped shape our neighborhoods are permanently reflected in the places they call home.

Edith Motte Young devoted her life to educating and uplifting young people, leaving a lasting impact on generations of Brooklyn students and Black women. As one of the 22 founders of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, members of Delta Sigma Theta are with us in the balcony today. Bishop Carl E. Williams was a beloved faith leader whose ministry and community service touched countless lives in my district and beyond. Reverend Clinton M. Miller was a pillar of Clinton Hill, whose decades of leadership at Brown Memorial Baptist Church extended far beyond its walls. He was a trusted advocate, mentor and voice for justice whose legacy continues to shape the community today.

And I also want to recognize the designation of Little Panama along Franklin Avenue. For generations, Crown Heights has been home to a thriving Panamanian community whose culture, businesses and traditions have enriched our borough. This co-naming is a celebration of that enduring legacy and an acknowledgment that their contributions are an essential part of Brooklyn's story. I would also like to thank Panamanian Consul General Roosevelt Fire, who was here today. Viva Panama. And I would like to thank the families, advocates and community members who worked to make these long overdue recognitions possible. Thank you.

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CM Banks, followed by Epstein. Thank

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you, Majority Leader, and thank you to the Speaker for her leadership as well. Today we have the opportunity to honor two incredible women whose lives were defined by service, compassion and an unwavering commitment to others. Donna Wakina Jones and Deedra Cheatham. I believe their families are in the balcony today. Donna Wakina Jones devoted her life to the Pink Houses community, serving as Director of the Lewis H. Pink Houses Community Center. She created opportunities for young people, supported families and became someone countless residents could depend on. She believed every child deserves a chance to succeed and she spent her entire life making sure that they had one. Her legacy lives on through the generations of young people she encouraged, mentored and inspired. Now, Deedra Cheatham shared the same heart for service.

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Whether she was serving in the New York City Council or working with community organizations or advocating for survivors of sexual assault or helping families in need, she always showed up for people. She led with kindness, treated everyone with respect and made a difference in both big and small ways. So many people remembered not just what she accomplished, but how she made them feel. I had the privilege of working alongside both Donna and Deedra, and I witnessed their commitment firsthand. Whether they were raising awareness for autism, advocating for public housing residents or helping advance initiatives that benefited the 42nd Council District, they approached every task with compassion, professionalism and a genuine desire to help others. When you think about Donna and Deedra, one thing becomes clear: they made their communities better simply by being a part of them. They gave their time, their energy and their hearts to helping others and they left behind legacies that will continue to inspire.

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Today we are prepared to permanently honor them through these street co-namings, and we are ensuring that future generations will know their names and the lasting impact they made on our community. Thank you.

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Thank you, CM Epstein, followed by Brewer.

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All right. Good evening. I want to thank the Speaker and the Finance Chair for this truly historic moment. We think about what we did around FHEPS and the thousands of families that we are going to protect, not having to get the 6,000 units that are offline right now. We could get another 1,100 back online. The supportive housing units, the increased funding and containerization, Fair Fares, workers' justice and food pantries — time and time again this Council stood up for working New Yorkers, stood up for affordability and this budget reflects those values. This is an important day in the City to say that we care deeply about this City, we care about the people who live here and this Council is fighting for them. This is a really important moment. I want to thank the Speaker again for her leadership and to know that a budget like this reflects our values, that we stood up for everyday New Yorkers and will continue to. Thank you.

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Thank you. I would like to remind folks that if for whatever reason you cannot get your remarks done through general orders, you can do it during the time that you vote. So if I cut you off, I am sorry about that. Just make sure you bring it up later on if you need to. CM Brewer, followed by CM Brooks-Powers. Thank

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you very much. Introduction 259-A on alternate side of the street stickers.

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In the 1980s, the Sanitation Department started placing neon green stickers on vehicles with repeated alternate side of the street violations. The Council banned them in 2012. I probably voted for that stupid bill. People make the following calculation: it is cheaper to not move your car for alternate side of the street and risk paying the $65 parking ticket than to pay for a garage. As of this year, the Sanitation Department estimated 500,000 cars violated street cleaning regulations on 1,200 routes every single week. That meant 3,000 blocks were not cleaned. People need to move the damn car. So I want to thank Speaker Menin, CM Sanchez for their support, Morgan Barrett, Joanna Castro and last but not least Jeff Baker, and from my office, Cynthia Hornig and Shula Cooter. I do want to thank the Sanitation Department also.

Number 259-A. This has to do with co-naming. We have a long history and we want to make sure people know about it. In 2023, the Council passed my Local Law 104, requiring the Department of Records and Information Services, DORIS, to create an interactive digital map of these co-namings. But between 2002 and 2003 — I think some of you were alive then — more than 400 streets were named after 9/11. The Speaker and I went to an awful lot of funerals, and the City lacked the biographical information to update the map. To the credit of DORIS and former Commissioner Pauling, they found all 400, showed up in their files and put them through the Council. That is what this law does. It says these are 400 people, they are ready to be recorded.

I want to thank Council Chris and Tory and Senior Legislative Patrick for their work. I just want to also mention Cecile Richards. Cecile Richards Way is one of the co-namings, at 83rd Street and Central Park West. She had a Planned Parenthood daughter and was the daughter of Governor Ann Richards. Thank you.

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CM Brooks-Powers, followed by Maloney. Thank you.

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I just wanted to take a moment to thank my colleague CM Hudson for sponsoring the co-naming for my sorority founder Edith Motte Young and recognizing her impactful life not only to the Brooklyn community but really across the world. So I am really excited that I get to vote on this street co-naming for my sorority in Brooklyn. So thank you for that.

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Thank you, CM Brooks-Powers. CM Maloney, followed by Hankerson. Thank

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you, Majority Leader. I am proud to introduce three street co-namings honoring people and institutions that have shaped our East Side community.

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The first, Jewish Community Relations Council of NY Way, will be at Second Avenue and East 47th Street, next to Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza. The Jewish Community Relations Council of NY has built relationships across New York's Jewish community and worked for a more interconnected City for all ethnic and religious groups for 50 years. Its headquarters sits just south of the Plaza, making it the organization's local park and a frequent site of rallies, protests and press conferences it organized or supported.

The second corrects an existing sign at East 67th Street and Lexington Avenue, adding the rank of Patrolman to honor Kenneth Keller of the 19th Precinct, an officer who fell in the line of duty, ensuring that his service and sacrifice are properly recognized. And third honors Joan Davidson at Lexington and 75th Street, the corner where she last lived. A devoted philanthropist, Davidson chaired the New York State Council on the Arts in the 1970s and served as a State Parks Commissioner in the late 1990s, leaving a lasting mark on our State's culture and parks.

I am honored to bring these co-namings forward and I also want to recognize and congratulate our very first intern, Kia, on graduating both from college and from our office. We are incredibly proud of these milestones and grateful for her contributions. Thank you.

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Thank you, CM Maloney. CM Hankerson, followed by...

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Thank you, Majority Leader. Today is a proud day for our parks, our communities and every park hero and park advocate who keeps the City thriving. In this budget we restored and secured additional funding for Green Thumb, tree stump removal, tree planting, Urban Park Rangers, recreation staff and our beloved PEP officers. These are not just line items. These are the people who open our parks, care for our trees, keep our recreation centers active, support our gardens, protect our public spaces and make sure New Yorkers can use the parks.

For the past few years, after every budget dance, the Council, parks staff and advocates have had to leave saying we secured the jobs for another year. Take a rest and get ready to do it all over again. But not this year. This year we are proud to have accomplished a historic budget, resulting in a $29.1 million baseline, which is so much greater than breathing a temporary sigh of relief. Together as a City we are building a stronger foundation.

So to every park worker who has ever wondered whether their City cares for you, let this be the marker that demonstrates that we understand you are valuable, your work is seen, your labor is appreciated and that your City deems you essential. I want to thank Speaker Menin, my colleagues and the administration for their outstanding commitment to our parks and the communities they serve. This is a major step, but we are not done. We will not let up until we get to the 1%. Thank you.

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CM Stevens, followed by CM Ydanis.

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Good afternoon. Today I am proud and honored to have the support of the majority of my colleagues in passing Int 0910-2026-A. As a member of the Council it is our responsibility to protect the small businesses that are the backbone of New York City's economy — bakeries, job services — and help define the character of our neighborhoods. When the government creates policies that unintentionally place unnecessary burdens on those businesses, it is also our responsibility to correct them. That is exactly what we are doing today.

The implementation of Local Law 75 of 2009 placed an unexpected and unnecessary financial burden on business owners across the City by requiring many of them to replace security grilles that were already safe, secure and fully functional. For some businesses those replacement costs have exceeded $10,000. At a time when our small businesses continue to face rising rent costs, inflation and increasing operating costs, government should not be adding unnecessary expenses that threaten their ability to succeed.

Int 0910-2026-A repeals an outdated mandate while continuing to allow businesses to maintain safe, secure storefronts. More importantly, it demonstrates that this Council is listening to the current concerns of our small businesses and communities and taking meaningful action to support them. I want to thank my colleague and friend CM Shanel Thomas-Henry, who chaired the hearing, my staff, the BIDs and all my colleagues who supported this legislation. Your partnership made today's vote possible.

To every small business across the five boroughs, this vote sends a clear message: this Council is committed to reducing unnecessary burdens, supporting economic opportunities and ensuring that New York City remains a place where your business can grow and thrive. Thank you.

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Thank you. CM Gutiérrez, followed by CM Cabán.

(00:45:36)

Thank you, Majority Leader. I am really excited to turn the chapter on a very exciting package of bills. I think this is the last bill, part of that original package codifying the Mayor's Office of Child Care, to help us as a City get to a true universal child care program that we can all be proud of. I want to thank every single person who was a sponsor — three times that we reintroduced it — including CM Kevin Riley from the Bronx. I want to thank, of course, Speaker Menin, who championed child care since before becoming Speaker. This is a really, really exciting opportunity because not only are we going to be able to hold the City accountable when it comes to child care, child care deserts, the way that providers are supported, but it is going to stand the test of time. It does not matter who is at City Hall — the Mayor's Office of Child Care will be there to work with every single agency necessary, City and State, to make it happen, to make it accessible for every single New Yorker, regardless of immigration status and regardless of income. New York has a real opportunity to lead and I am so excited that we get to be a part of that Council that is doing that.

Very quickly, I want to thank my whole legislative team, everyone that helped us get here. I want to thank my former chief of staff, Leonor Lair, who I joked with — I said she was not pregnant when we reintroduced it and now she has had her baby. Now that the universal child care plan has passed, congrats to her. And of course I want to thank all of my colleagues who have joined us at all the rallies, and all the providers who have come to testify, who are very much leaning on us to help them get to dignified wages and dignified benefits. We are still in that struggle. But I want to thank everyone here who showed up for working families. Thank you.

(00:47:34)

Thank you, CM Gutiérrez. CM Cabán, followed by CM Morano.

(00:47:38)

Thank you. I plan to reserve my comments on the budget for during that vote. Regarding Int 0929-2026-A, I continue to hold the reservations that I had for Int 0553-2026-A, that this amended bill will silence dissent and add to the federal government's assault on freedom of speech, and that still stands. It is also important to note that I think Int 0553-2026-A duplicates an existing, underutilized state program for cameras for small businesses. I do want to take the moment to thank all of the dozens and dozens of staffers that make a budget possible, and thank you to my team as well. Thank you.

(00:48:19)

CM Morano, followed by CM Mealy.

(00:48:22)

Thank you, Majority Leader. I know I do not often spend much time talking about street namings, especially on a day when we are considering so many important pieces of legislation, but I hope you will indulge me for just a moment. Because today's package, Int 0859-2026-A, includes two street namings that mean an extraordinary amount to me and to the community that I represent. One honors Dorothy Day, a woman...

(00:48:45)

...whose compassion, faith and commitment to serving others changed countless lives. It is fitting that her image hangs here in City Hall overlooking the staircase that so many of us walk each day. It is a quiet reminder that public service is ultimately about serving others. The other honors a young man gone far too soon, John Hudson Belgiani, a remarkable young man who lived with unimaginable pain because of epidermolysis bullosa, yet never allowed his condition to define him. Instead, he dedicated his life to giving hope to others, advancing research and showing all of us what courage and resilience truly look like.

These two Staten Islanders lived a century apart and led very different lives, but they shared something profound: they made our borough, our City and our world better simply by the way they lived. If sainthood is ultimately for the Church to decide, I can certainly say that in the eyes of so many Staten Islanders, these are two people whose lives reflected extraordinary grace, compassion and selflessness.

I want to sincerely thank all of my colleagues for supporting these street namings and helping make sure their legacies will live on for generations to come. Long after we are all gone, New Yorkers will pass these signs, ask who these people were and learn their stories, and that is a powerful thing. Today we are forever memorializing not just names but lives of service, compassion, courage and hope. It is a privilege to have played a small part in that, and I am deeply grateful to all of you for making that possible. Thank you.

(00:50:20)

CM Mealy, followed by CM Avilés.

(00:50:21)

Thank you. I want to thank the Speaker for her leadership with this budget. I want to thank all the budget team for doing such a great job. I just want to thank my community for a street naming we just had last Saturday — the co-naming of the southeast corner of Rochester Avenue and Lincoln Place as Rev. Clinton M. Miller Way. I want to thank Apostle Rodgers, Reverend Herbert Daughtry, the president of our district, and Anthony Jones for coming out that day.

This co-naming is for more than 80 years of service. The Greater Bible Way Temple has been a cornerstone of Crown Heights, located on Rochester Avenue for over three decades. This church has been more than just a place of worship. It has been a place of refuge, service and community care. The church has consistently met the real needs of the community. Its Bible Way Learning Center also educated local children for decades, helping to shape professionals who continue to come back every year. This institution has uplifted generations through both faith and action, offering spiritual guidance alongside practical support.

The co-naming of Rev. Clinton M. Miller Way reflects its legacy as a gathering place and a beacon of hope for the community it has served so faithfully. I want to thank everyone for the co-naming of Rev. Clinton M. Miller Way. He has been a pillar of the community. I know it is not in my district, but he has really done so much for us. I want to thank them for renaming his street Brooklyn Apostolic Mackenzie Way. He has been a true pillar. Thank you.

(00:52:32)

Thank you. I love this community. Thank you.

(00:52:35)

CM Avilés, followed by CM Thomas-Henry.

(00:52:38)

Thank you, colleagues. Today I am proud to bring several street namings to a vote that honor the leaders and history of District 38. First, we honor Maria Interlandi-Reno, the beloved principal from PS 24, and her commitment to inclusive education. We also celebrate the life and work of Josephine Massicotte-Brown, the executive director of the New York Memory Center, who led the nation's first early Alzheimer's and dementia program. We also honor Paolo Pesce, an Italian immigrant and proud Bensonhurst resident who opened La Bella Marketplace, a family-owned market that is the hub of the community. Finally, on the Battle of Brooklyn's 250th anniversary, we celebrate Red Hook's history by honoring Fort Defiance Place, a key site in the American Revolutionary War and the terminus for the Lenape Trail, a trail later known as Red Lane. I want to thank the family members, friends and community members that led the charge to honor our district's history and community leaders.

(00:53:56)

Thank you. CM Thomas-Henry, followed by CM Won.

(00:53:58)

Thank you. Today I am honored to recognize several individuals whose names will live on through District 21. The Honorable Jimmy Smith was an Army veteran, retired transit worker, former district leader and community leader who served as a member of the East Elmhurst Corona Civic Association, the chair of Elmore Youth and Adult Activities and also served as chair of Community Board 3 and its budget committee, where he served until his passing at the ripe age of 95.

Grace V. Lawrence was a pillar throughout District 21, not only serving on numerous boards throughout the district but also as a founding member of so many institutions throughout my district, including the Langston Hughes Library Action Committee, Neighborhood Housing Services of Northern Queens, the Jerome Hardiman Senior Day Care Center and the Louis Armstrong House Museum. She tirelessly worked throughout the community until passing just days before her 99th birthday.

Last, but certainly not least, I would like to honor the life of a young soul taken far too early by a drunk driver. Donica Cook was taken from us exactly 10 years ago today. She was a young woman whose life was just beginning and she brought so much to so many. Since her passing, her mom Julianne started a foundation to raise awareness regarding reckless driving. She took that tragedy and turned it into a fight for others, so they would not have to suffer such a tragedy. So today, in honor of the 10-year anniversary of her passing, I want to say to her mom: the fight has been long, but it is not over, and she will always be remembered throughout our community.

(00:56:07)

Thank you. CM Won, followed by CM Salaam.

(00:56:11)

Thank you, Majority Leader. I want to speak about a street co-naming that is actually not in my district. It is in CM Joseph's district. Teddy Vann was a Grammy Award-winning writer, producer and humanitarian. He wrote the 1960s hit "Looky Looky" for Johnny Thunder and won a Grammy for his song "The Power of Love/Love Power," a hit for Luther Vandross in 1991. He had over 140 songs registered with Broadcast Music Incorporated and participated in a number of music projects, including Tales of the Dixie Drifter, which featured Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Sam Cooke and Bob Dylan. I really want to shout out CM Joseph for the street co-naming. I was surprised to see it on this agenda because Teddy Vann was my grandfather. So thank you very much, CM Joseph.

(00:57:07)

Has anyone else signed up to speak for general orders? Did I miss anyone for general orders? All right. I see CM Phil Wong has stepped out, so he can give his remarks later.

(00:57:20)

Report of Special Committees: none. Reports of Standing Committees: reported from the Committee on Education, Int 0015-2026-A, background checks, amended and coupled on general orders. Int 0580-2026-A, Office of Child Care and Early Childhood Education, amended and coupled. Reported from the Committee on Finance: Preconsidered Res 0529-2026, transparency resolution, coupled on general orders. Preconsidered Res 0530-2026 through Preconsidered Res 0533-2026, interest rate for non-payment of taxes, coupled. Preconsidered Res 0534-2026 and Preconsidered Res 0535-2026, base percentage and base proportion, coupled with M 0069-2026. Preconsidered Res 0539-2026 and Res 0540-2026, expense revenue contract budget fiscal year 2027, coupled with M 0070-2026. Preconsidered Res 0541-2026 and Res 0542-2026, executive capital budget fiscal year 2027, coupled...

(00:58:15)

...with M 0074-2026. Preconsidered Res 0543-2026, community development program, coupled. Preconsidered M 0080-2026 and Preconsidered Res 0544-2026, and Preconsidered M 0081-2026 and Preconsidered Res 0545-2026, budget modifications, coupled. Preconsidered M 0082-2026 and Preconsidered Res 0546-2026, fixing the tax rate, coupled. Reported from the Committee on Housing and Buildings: Preconsidered Int 0966-2026, rental assistance voucher program, coupled on general orders with the message of necessity. Reported from the Committee on Land Use: LU 0067-2026, LU 0068-2026, LU 0069-2026 and LU 0071-2026 through LU 0077-2026, various approvals of modifications and referred to the City Planning Commission pursuant to Section 197 of the New York City Charter. LU 0070-2026, Monitor Point, coupled to be filed pursuant to your letter. Reported from the Committee on Parks and Recreation: Int 0859-2026-A, street naming biographical information, amended and coupled on general orders. Preconsidered Res 0056-2026, naming of 103 thoroughfares and public places, coupled on general orders. Reported from the Committee on Public Safety: Int 0929-2026-A, NYPD security perimeters, amended and coupled on general orders. Reported from the Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management: Int 0031-2026-A, commercial organic waste, amended and coupled. Int 0092-2026-A, alternate side parking enforcement, amended and coupled.

Reported from the Committee on Small Business: Int 0553-2026-A and Int 0910-2026-A, small business security systems, amended and coupled. Right now I ask the Clerk to take a roll call vote on all the items covered on today's general orders...

(00:59:54)

...calendar. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Colleagues, please remember to disclose any conflicts before you begin voting. Your disclosure forms are on the blue sheets on your...

(01:00:04)

...desk. CM Justin Sanchez: I note for the Council proceedings that the New York City Police Department is funded in the budget we are adopting and my business associate is associated with that entity. Permission to...

(01:00:21)

...explain my vote. Permission granted.

(01:00:25)

Granted. First I want to thank Mayor Mamdani and Speaker Menin, along with Charlie and on behalf of the City Council Finance team for all their hard work in reaching this budget agreement in my first year as a City Council member. I am proud to support a budget that puts the needs of everyday New Yorkers first. While there is room for continued progress, this budget has stepped forward in our efforts to make New York City more affordable for working families. I will always fight for the East Bronx to get our fair share. During the budget process, we stood firm with my City Council colleagues to ensure we passed the balanced budget without additional tax increases on hard-working Bronx families and homeowners. I advocated for funding initiatives to combat food insecurity, support older adults, increased opportunities for young people and protect our immigrant communities. We prioritized funding much needed capital improvements to our public schools, libraries and parks in the East Bronx communities I represent. Housing security is a top concern. That is why I am particularly excited that we have secured a historic agreement to expand housing voucher access for New Yorkers facing displacement and homelessness. We are also putting additional investment towards supporting homeowners facing rising costs and struggling to keep their homes. I must say, however, that a commitment for pay parity for workers and pay increases for paraprofessionals is not apparent in this budget.

As chair of the Civil Service and Labor Committee, I remain committed to advocating for pay parity improvements for these vital City workers. Today I am proud to vote for a budget that takes strides towards addressing the needs and priorities of hard-working Bronx families and New York City families. I look forward to continuing to work with Speaker Menin, City Council colleagues and the administration to build on the strong foundation of this budget in the years to come. I vote aye on all.

(01:02:22)

Ariola. I am disclosing on the record of the Council proceedings that the New York City Department of Sanitation is funded in the budget we are adopting and my son is associated with an entity. Permission to explain

(01:02:36)

my vote. Permission granted. There

(01:02:37)

are a lot of good things in this budget and it is a shame that this was tainted by the Mayor's betrayal and ideological demands, which put all New Yorkers in harm's way and will only lead the City down a path to ruin. His refusal to fund the fifth firefighter in our engine companies, to adequately man our police force and to raise the pay of our workers, among so many other things, while overfunding his self-serving, politically motivated agencies and projects, is unacceptable and, to be completely honest, downright dangerous. Not surprisingly, the Mayor put ideology over reality in this budget. For those reasons I will vote no on Int 0031-2026-A and Int 0092-2026-A, Res 0529-2026, Res 0531-2026, Res 0532-2026, Preconsidered Res 0534-2026 and Res 0535-2026, Preconsidered Res 0539-2026, Preconsidered Res 0543-2026, M 0074-2026, Preconsidered Res 0544-2026 and M 0080-2026, Preconsidered Res 0545-2026 and M 0081-2026, as well as Preconsidered Res 0546-2026 and M 0082-2026, and aye on all the rest.

(01:04:22)

Clerk, you got that? Yes, sir. Thank you. Avilés. I am

(01:04:35)

disclosing on the record of the Council that positions in the New York City Department of Education and Department of Parks and Recreation are funded in this budget that we are adopting and I, or my child, respectively, are associated with these entities. Permission to explain my

(01:04:52)

vote. Permission granted.

(01:04:57)

Since being elected to the City Council, I have championed the idea of budget justice — that by turning away from the status quo and austerity budgeting we can actually fund the services poor and working New Yorkers need by focusing on economic inequities and shifting funding away from ineffective and harmful programs. I have been proud to work with the Progressive Caucus in efforts to center New York's most vulnerable, from our Crisis to Care public safety priorities to funding to protect affordable housing and homeownership to protecting immigrant legal service funding. I am proud to continue supporting local service providers such as Mixteca, Center for Family Life, Red Hook Initiative and so many more. Thank you all for the work you do loving and serving our district every single day.

It is great to see that the parks funding is baselined, among so many other initiatives, and taken out of a yearly budget dance. We need to get to 1%. I am reassured that this final budget kept the NYPD headcount flat and instead invested more resources in the services that New Yorkers need, towards sustainable, data-driven public safety measures such as mental health treatment teams, including access for workers. This will move New York City closer to our vision of true public safety.

While I am thrilled that a settlement was reached in City Phoebe's case and funding was allocated to expand the program, I am disappointed that the Progressive Caucus's Rentals Within Reach program campaign to reduce existing NYCHA and supportive housing vacancies did not see the meaningful investments it should have. Nor have we addressed parity. Rest assured, we will continue to unapologetically fight for the working people of New York City. Thank you. Lastly, I am voting no on Int 0553-2026-A and Int 0929-2026-A, and aye on the rest.

(01:07:03)

Thank you. Banks. I am disclosing on the record that juvenile justice is funded in this budget we are adopting and my brothers are associated with these entities. Permission to explain my vote. Permission

(01:07:24)

granted.

(01:07:24)

Majority Leader. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Good to the leadership, the team and to the Finance Division. Thank you for your tireless work. To my colleagues, thank you for

(01:07:35)

your tremendous work on this year's budget. As stated by the Speaker earlier, this budget delivered the largest package of investments secured in City Council history, both capital and expense. It makes critical investments in addressing the ongoing affordability crisis here in New York City while expanding opportunity and improving the quality of life of all New Yorkers. We expanded mental health services, strengthened affordable and supportive housing and invested in preparing NYCHA units for occupancy and increased support for older adults across our City. And while these investments move our City forward, including steps to bring more NYCHA units back online, we must be honest that they do not yet meet the full scale of the need facing public housing residents.

As we recognize this progress, we must also confront where our City is still falling short. For me, that begins with public housing. For decades, NYCHA has suffered from chronic underinvestment. But let me be clear: the answer to this is not privatization. The answer is investment. Public housing deserves public investment and public land must remain for public use. This is why I will continue calling for an immediate moratorium on new RAD/PACT conversions until we fully evaluate their long-term impact on residents and their rights. Instead, we must prioritize reinvestment in traditional Section 9 housing by expanding the Comprehensive Modernization Program. This is how we will repair, rehabilitate and modernize NYCHA while keeping it permanently public.

And when a community's future is at stake, residents deserve more than a presentation. They deserve a voice. Every NYCHA resident should have the right, in a formal democratic process, to vote on whether or not they want to go RAD/PACT. Tell us your vote, Council Member. Thank you. Thank you, Majority Leader. I vote aye on all. Appreciate you. Thank you.

(01:09:50)

There was no assassination attempt, I promise. Brewer. I am also disclosing that I teach at Hunter College, so I am saying that I am adopting the budget and that entity is funded and I am associated with that entity. I want to say about the budget: thank the Mayor and his staff, Speaker Menin and her staff. I think in every community we have mental health issues that are hopefully being addressed. Housing issues, with NYCHA supportive units, all in the budget to a certain extent. Certainly the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection has improved its ability, hopefully, to do outreach and legal services. Cultural affairs — I really want to thank you, Madam Speaker, for the support there. The home delivery program, CUNY needs, the Omnicare — that is exciting as well as all the other programs, libraries and parks. I also want to thank everyone for helping with the 9/11 inquiry to see if there really were toxic discussions that took place. We need to know it so that those can hopefully be addressed in the future if there are any such issues. I finally want to state that what this budget is missing — what we have to keep paying attention to — is the oversight agencies. We had hoped to get more money for the Conflicts of Interest Board or any other agency that does oversight of our governance. Thank you very much. I vote aye

(01:11:19)

on all. Brooks-Powers. I am disclosing on the record of the Council proceedings that the Queens Alumni Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated is funded in the budget we are adopting and I am associated with this nonprofit. And that the New York City Department of Education is funded in the budget we are adopting and my sibling is associated with this nonprofit. Also, Edge School of the Arts is funded in the budget we are adopting and my child is associated with this nonprofit. Permission to explain my vote. Permission

(01:11:59)

granted.

(01:11:59)

Today I rise in support of this year's budget, but I do so with reservations. This is my sixth budget in the City Council, having served under three mayoral administrations. This is the first administration during my tenure where the Mayor's executive capital budget includes no capital investments for the 31st Council District, at a time when my community faces long-standing health and infrastructure challenges. Just four days ago, the Mayor said health care is a human right and we will do everything in our power to defend it. But those words ring hollow for my community today. The absence of capital funding in this budget for the 31st District sends a clear message that your zip code does determine your right to health care. A budget reflects our values and every community deserves to see itself in that vision. In the weeks ahead, the Mayor must affirm his commitment to District 31 by sharing his vision for our community. I will not stop fighting to ensure our district is not left behind under this administration.

That being said, I want to thank Speaker Menin for her leadership in negotiating a budget that reflects many of the Council's priorities, from raising Fair Fares eligibility to 200% of the federal poverty level to the expansion of City FHEPS, to a historic investment in affordable housing preservation and new homeownership construction. This budget brings us closer to delivering a trauma center to the Rockaway Peninsula by including $10 million for this critical project. Thanks to this Council, this budget also provides an additional $5 million for a long-awaited Brookville Park Recreation Center that will create new opportunities for families and young people throughout Southeast Queens. I am supporting this budget because of what the Council fought to deliver for working families across New York City, but much more work lies ahead. Thank you. And I vote aye. Thank you, Cabán.

(01:14:05)

Permission to explain my vote. Permission granted.

(01:14:09)

Thank you, colleagues, Speaker, Finance Chair and to the Council Finance staff for your tireless work. I made a promise to my constituents and to myself to always fight for the most vulnerable New Yorkers no matter what. I believed then, as I do now, that we can build a City where parents can raise families, where people can grow old, where we can remain in our communities free from the fear of displacement and where our government works for all of us. But for too long, municipal budgets have prioritized the interests of the wealthy and well-connected. There are elements of this budget that, like those previous budgets, fall short of what working-class New Yorkers need. For example, it fails to fund Rentals Within Reach, which would have provided housing for 20,000 of the most vulnerable New Yorkers through investments in NYCHA and supportive housing.

And I will say, despite these shortcomings, this budget makes crucial changes that will improve the lives of people across the City. When corporations commit wage theft or impose extortionate fees on New Yorkers, the City rarely has the resources to hold them accountable. This budget increases their funding to ensure that they can enforce worker and consumer rights laws. When New Yorkers fear being attacked or discriminated against because of their identity, they too often are directed to a reactive police response that does little to prevent or help heal. Today we are investing $26 million in anti-hate programs, which will promote proven community-based hate violence prevention. Too many New Yorkers struggling with mental illness have been left to fend for themselves or, worse, criminalized for it. We worked with advocates to baseline over $80 million for mental health programs to deliver care. Every day, working-class New Yorkers face addiction. I am proud of the Progressive Caucus, the Speaker and the Mayor for reaching a deal to expand services, but it does fall short. We can do more. And I am proud to have worked

(01:15:55)

closely with the Mayor and public safety advocates to ensure there was no increase to the NYPD's headcount. I have said it many times before and I will say it again: we cannot police, punish and incarcerate our way to safety, and every dollar we spend there is money we cannot spend on housing, mental health care, substance... Please wrap up. ...and so on.

(01:16:14)

Just as I promised when I first entered the Council, I will continue to fight for the New York we all deserve. Tell us your vote. For these reasons, I vote aye on the budget, no on Int 0553-2026-A and Int 0929-2026-A, and aye on all the rest. Thank

(01:16:28)

you. Thank you. De La Rosa. I am disclosing on the record of the Council proceedings that the New York City Department of Education is funded in this budget we are adopting and my child is associated with that entity. I request permission to explain my vote. Permission granted.

(01:16:46)

Thank you, Majority Leader. I want to start by thanking Mayor Mamdani and his team, Speaker Menin and her team, Charlie and the staff for their work over the last several months. I want to thank my colleagues, particularly those of the Progressive Caucus, as well as the coalitions and community advocates who fought tirelessly to protect critical services. We worked for a budget that prioritizes affordable housing and social justice amid a deep affordability crisis. This budget includes important wins for supportive housing, for Fair Fares, libraries, immigrant legal services, parks, City FHEPS and Crisis to Care. Still, more work lies ahead to close the urgent housing gaps, including NYCHA vacancy repairs and stronger investments to address the needs we all share responsibility for.

I especially want to commend Council Member Cabán for her tireless advocacy on City FHEPS and for reminding us all of our collective duty to care for our fellow New Yorkers. Our communities are confronting rising costs, growing mental health needs, fear and uncertainty in immigrant communities and an escalating consequence of climate change. Meeting these challenges will require truly progressive taxation that is equitable without reservation. New Yorkers have made themselves clear: we need an affordable city. While the rent freeze on one and two year leases offers some relief, our work is far from over. I am proud to vote yes on the budget today with a continued commitment to uplift the voices of District 10 and to fight for a city that is rooted in affordability, safety and dignity for all. With that being said, I want to vote aye on all except for Int 0929-2026-A and Int 0092-2026-A, for which I vote no. Thank you. Thank

(01:18:44)

you. Dinowitz. I am disclosing on the record of the Council proceedings that the City University of New York is funded in the budget we are adopting and I am associated with that entity. Permission to explain my vote. Permission granted.

(01:19:00)

Thank you so much, Majority Leader. Good evening.

Good evening. Thank you, sir. I have to... well, I rise to explain my vote.

It is my time. Your time is counting. Your time started.

I will do what I want with that time. I am okay. No, it is not just this. Why I love my job... I think our job is very special. Like every day we get to help people, and the people who come into our office are very often coming in at their worst. People who are at their wit's end, struggling just to get to their job on the bus. People on the verge of eviction. Parents who are anxious and desperate about the success of their children. Families who want their parks to be safe and clean. For those families, for those neighbors of ours, we demand the best from our government, and today we are delivering the best in our government.

So for those workers that come into our office just trying to get to their job and do better for the City, we hear you, and we are delivering an expansion of Fair Fares. For the families on the brink of eviction, we hear you, and we are delivering expanded City FEPS to keep you housed. For those parents who simply want their children to do better than they were ever able to do, we hear you, and we are delivering New York City Kids Rise — a thousand dollars for every public school kindergartener.

Investments in restorative justice, mental health support, student success, Omni cards for CUNY students, early childhood seats, teacher training and so much more. For those families who want those safe, clean parks, increased and baseline parks funding. The delivery of these services in this budget is due in large part to all of us working together under the leadership of Speaker Menin. I just want to thank you, Speaker Menin, for standing firm and delivering a budget that delivers for our constituents. To our Finance Chair and to the entire finance staff, thank you so much. I vote aye on this budget and on all the legislation.

(01:21:12)

I am disclosing on the record of the Council proceedings that Community Voices Heard is funded in the budget we are adopting, and I am associated with that entity. I also request permission to explain my vote.

(01:21:25)

Granted. Thank you, Majority

(01:21:27)

Leader. I am proud to vote in support of this budget, my very first as a member of the City Council and my first as a member of the Council's leadership team. It has been an incredible learning experience, and I am grateful to everyone whose hard work made this budget possible. This budget reflects our shared values, from our solidarity behind City FEPS to the incredible expansion of Fair Fares. As Chair of the Immigration Committee, I am proud that we are reaffirming our commitment to immigration legal services, ensuring that immigrant New Yorkers continue to have access to the legal representation and support they deserve.

These are meaningful investments that will make a real difference in people's lives, and they are the result of collaboration, thoughtful negotiations and a commitment to delivering for New Yorkers. I want to sincerely thank Speaker Menin for her steadfast leadership and for holding the line on one of the Council's most important priorities. I also want to thank Finance Chair Lee for her partnership and dedication throughout this process, the incredible finance division for their tireless work, and every member of the budget negotiation team and the Finance Committee. It has truly been an honor to be a part of this process, and I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together. With that said, I vote aye on all. Thank you, Majority

(01:22:48)

Leader! Permission to explain my vote.

Permission

(01:22:50)

granted. I just want to... I am going to vote aye. I wanted to talk about the Abdul Saleh street co-naming. Abdul Saleh was in my neighborhood and about two months ago was shot and killed in a gun violence incident. He ran a store, a bodega, in my district, and it was such a really heartbreaking incident. You know, we have talked about gun violence a lot in this chamber and focusing on concerns around that, and we are doing a street co-naming on his behalf. But it goes longer than that, and we have a huge problem in our city and in my district around gun violence. Hopefully with this street co-naming and the work that I know we are doing across this Council, we can get in front of all these issues. On behalf of Abdul Saleh and his family and all the other victims of gun violence, I encourage us to continue working for longer term solutions. I vote aye. Thank you.

(01:23:52)

Permission to explain my vote.

There is a new Majority Leader in the City. I actually looked up and was confused for a moment.

Permission granted. Well, thank you, Interim Majority Leader.

(01:24:09)

Krishnan. I am really proud to have reached an on-time and historic budget agreement that delivers meaningful investments for all New Yorkers. A huge thank you to our incredible finance team for their tireless work, to Speaker Menin, Charlie, and obviously across City Hall, Mayor Mamdani and his team for

(01:24:24)

partnering with the Council to get this across the finish line. We really had a great collaboration this year and our communities will be better because of it. With that, I vote aye on all. Thank you. Thank you,

(01:24:42)

Felder. I am disclosing on the record of the Council proceedings that the Stroke and Brain Injury Assistance Organization and the Relative Elder and Childhood Center, funded in the budget that we are adopting, and my spouse and I, respectively, are associated with that entity. I also want to vote no on Res 0530-2026, Res 0531-2026, Res 0532-2026, Res 0533-2026, Res 0534-2026 and Res 0535-2026.

(01:25:22)

And I abstain on Int 0956-2026.

(01:25:26)

Thank you. Thank you, CM Feliz. I am disclosing on the record that CUNY is funded in the budget we are adopting. I served proudly as an adjunct lecturer in the CUNY system. Also, my partner is associated with Volunteers of America, which is also being funded in this budget. With that said, I request permission to explain my vote.

(01:26:04)

Permission granted.

(01:26:05)

And I see everybody standing up for their statements. I will do the same. I want to start by congratulating our wonderful Speaker Julie Menin, our Finance Chair Linda Lee, and all of my colleagues on fighting for a budget that helps resolve the issues of our time, including the issue of housing affordability, expanding the City FEPS program so that rather than living in a temporary shelter, our most vulnerable families can live in a stable home with the dignity that they deserve. Also, public transit affordability — expanding the Fair Fares program so that costs related to travel do not become an obstacle when residents are in search of opportunity.

Housing affordability, public transit affordability and so much more. We fought to properly fund our libraries, our parks — please keep it down in the chambers — our Kids Rise program to ensure that we are truly preparing our youth for the future. So many big wins for the hard working people of the City. This is a budget that we should all be proud of.

I am also proud and thankful that we are finally voting to approve Int 0553-2026-A, the Small Business Protection Act. Small businesses are the heart of our economy. They create local jobs, they make communities vibrant, they do so much, and it is crucial that we listen to them and help them resolve the challenges that they face, including challenges related to safety. Some of our businesses continue to face challenges related to safety problems that are affecting their ability to stay afloat. My Bill will ensure that businesses have the tools to help prevent safety issues by equipping them with technology, including cameras and plaques for the bodegas and more to help deter crime.

This is an important step that we are taking to protect small business owners and their hard work. We are also sending a very crystal clear message: when it comes to the safety issues that they have consistently raised, this City Council is listening. So with that said, I want to thank you, Speaker Menin, for helping get that Bill to the finish line. I want to congratulate everybody. I vote aye. Thank you so

(01:28:13)

much. I am disclosing on the record that the Queens Centers for Progress is funded in the budget we are adopting, and my spouse is associated with that entity. My spouse is Wendy, and she is watching. So there you go. I request permission to explain my vote.

Permission granted.

(01:28:40)

I am really delighted that this budget includes the new initiative Heat Pumps for All, a pilot program of cost-free heat pumps for low-income one- and two-family homeowners in environmental justice communities. I am proud to have introduced this initiative in this year's budget process with support from Finance Chair Linda Lee, CM Marte and of course Speaker Menin and all of her terrific staff — special shout out to Nicci and Tom. We have created a Heat Pumps Coalition including the Central Labor Council, New York Communities for Change, Steamfitters Local 638, Climbing Jobs New York, Food and Water Watch and others. It was great working side by side with environmental advocates, kids and labor in common cause to create a city with clean air and clean energy union jobs. This is the formula for a more sustainable city.

This pilot will help to normalize the heat pump technology that we badly need to meet our clean air and climate challenges, and will generate data on the efficacy of this technology. I again want to thank Speaker Menin for her great environmental leadership to advance this effort and for recognizing the importance of expanding access to clean, affordable heating and cooling for working families and the creation of green union jobs. This funding is an important first step toward ensuring that working families have the same opportunity to modernize their homes, lower their energy bills and contribute to a cleaner, more resilient New York City. Last but not least, I thank my terrific legislative director sitting right behind me, Josh. I vote aye on all. Thank you,

(01:30:36)

Gutiérrez. I am disclosing on the record of the Council proceedings that the New York City Department of Social Services, the Department of Education and my local medical center are funded in the budget we are adopting, and my spouse, child and sibling, respectively, are associated with those entities. Permission to explain my vote.

(01:30:53)

Permission granted. Thank

(01:30:54)

you. I want to first start off by giving all the thank yous. I want to double down on thanking the entire finance staff, Speaker Menin, Donna and all the staff. This has been quite the experience and I am really excited that in a few hours it will be behind us. I want to give a special shout out to the Progressive Caucus, to our champions, the Progressive Caucus leadership, CM Nurse, CM Avilés, CM Sanchez, who have been incredible partners in not just getting these critical investments into our budget, but really helping to prioritize all the needs for working class New Yorkers and the most vulnerable New Yorkers.

I am really excited that the administration is funding the early child care workforce development at CUNY. We had a hearing a couple of months ago, and while I am obviously in support of expanding and the rollout of all things universal child care, I have been concerned about our ability to match the number of seats in expansion with the workforce — the classrooms with educators to do that work. CUNY has been doing this work for a very long time. They are up for the challenge to expand, and so I am super excited to see the investment to support this growing workforce so that anybody who is looking to pursue a profession in early child care education can be trained and prepared to take this on.

Of course, I am very grateful that we were able to secure the funding for expanding City FEPS. You have heard from so many of my colleagues, you have heard from Speaker Menin, just how important it has been to invest in expanding this voucher, because creating this program allows every New Yorker who is facing eviction or homelessness an opportunity, an option. For many of us here, before we were members, we were one paycheck away from that as well. So... that is it. That is my whole time. Oh my God. Okay, I vote aye, except I abstain on Int 0956-2026. Thank you so much. Thank you.

(01:33:14)

Hanif. Permission to explain my vote.

(01:33:16)

Permission granted. I vote

(01:33:17)

yes on the budget. Thanks to the leadership of democratic socialist Mayor Mamdani, the budget before us is not a budget of austerity. It is a budget that shows what is possible when we choose to invest in poor and working people. Fair Fares

(01:33:33)

is baselined and expanded so more New Yorkers can get around our city. Longtime priorities of the Progressive Caucus — mental health crisis respite centers and initiatives that hire peer specialist staff — are baselined. Promise, which provides free childcare for newly arrived immigrant families, is baselined. Importantly, there is no increase in NYPD headcount, an issue I strongly advocated for during negotiations. This Council also secured a historic agreement on City FEPS. At a time when too many families remain trapped in shelter, this investment creates a pathway to permanent housing stability, community and opportunity.

These victories are significant, but our work is not done. I look forward to continuing the fight to fully invest in NYCHA so vacant apartments can be repaired and returned to families faster. I will also continue advocating for full funding of the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, the disability justice arm of our city government. Let me be clear: New Yorkers deserve even more. We must tax the rich. Alongside the Progressive Caucus and my socialist colleagues, I will continue fighting every year for the resources we need to deliver housing, transit, schools, health care and public services that every New Yorker deserves. Thank you, Menin, and the budget negotiating team. Today I am proud to be a democratic socialist. I vote aye on all except Int 0956-2026. Thank

(01:35:10)

you. Hankerson. Permission to explain my

(01:35:11)

vote. Permission granted. I will be very brief because I spoke

(01:35:13)

already. But I just want to thank Speaker Menin again for her advocacy on parks, and her team for the hard work that they did over these past few months. I want to thank the Speaker's office for the capital funding for Baisley Pond Park. It is something that my constituents have been waiting and looking for, and thank you for that. I also want to thank the Mayor and his team for baselining funding for the first time ever for Liberty Avenue, as well as negotiating a deal for the good folks at RUSH to forgive their interest on their water bill. Thank you so much. I vote aye. Thank you. Thanks.

(01:35:57)

Permission to explain my vote.

Permission granted. Today

(01:35:59)

I am proud to vote yes on the budget. It delivers real investments for New Yorkers. This is a budget that makes life more affordable, strengthens neighborhoods and protects essential services. I want to thank Speaker Menin, Finance Chair Linda Lee and the Council's finance staff, and everyone who worked through this process to deliver a responsible budget that meets this moment.

This budget makes meaningful investments in Fair Fares, homeowners, older adults and our cultural institutions. It also proves an important point: we can invest in our communities without raising property taxes, raiding reserves or cutting essential services. I am especially proud of the expansion of Kids Rise. Every New York City public school kindergartener will now have a stronger financial foundation from the very beginning, and that is how we help families build wealth, expand opportunity and invest in the next generation.

But I also want to be clear: throughout this process we fought for our first responders, we fought for additional resources for our police officers and firefighters to keep New Yorkers safe. Public safety must always remain a priority and we will continue that fight. As a member of this body and representative of District 49, my commitment remains the same: to support responsible investments that strengthen our neighborhoods, improve lives and deliver for the people we serve. Speaker Menin, you made us proud with a budget that reflects our values, and I am proud to support a budget that meets this moment for New Yorkers. I vote aye on all.

(01:37:29)

Hudson. I am disclosing on the record of the Council proceedings that the Brooklyn Museum, Botanical Garden, Academy of Music, Museum of the City of New York, New York City Commission on Gender Equity and... are funded in the budget we are adopting, and my spouse and my business associate respectively are associated with those entities. Permission to explain my vote. Permission granted. Thank you.

One of the most challenging but crucial roles of this body is our Charter mandate to approve the City's budget. While no budget is perfect and there is never enough money to fully fund every item, there is always something to be grateful for, and this budget includes meaningful wins. It properly budgets programs like cash, adds SNAP eligibility specialists, invests $78 million to expand Fair Fares to 200% of the federal poverty line, and for the first time funds SNAP educators to help New Yorkers access benefits after the Trump administration eliminated federal support for this work. The Progressive Caucus's Fiscal Year 26 campaign, Crisis to Care, is now baseline.

While this budget secures tens of millions of dollars to fill supportive housing and... vacancies, as demanded by the Progressive Caucus's Fiscal Year 27 Rentals Within Reach campaign, I also want to call out this budget's commitment to City FHEPS — $170 million, $75 million in additional funds to stabilize the program and get us closer toward the expansion this Council has fought for since 2023, which would not have happened without the leadership of the Progressive Caucus and the tireless advocacy of social service providers and impacted New Yorkers.

We will not stop fighting for additional funding to implement these laws, and I am committed to continuing my advocacy for budget priorities that meet the urgency this moment demands, including funding, including allowing people to remain in their homes by funding the tools I need to combat deed theft. Lastly, I want to thank Council Finance staff as well as those at OMB for getting us to this point quite literally. I want to especially thank Julia..., Elizabeth... and Farida... from the General Welfare team. Thank you to the Speaker and Mayor for their leadership. I vote aye, with the exception of Int 0929-2026-A, for which I have...

(01:39:39)

Thank you, Joseph. Thank you. I am disclosing on the record of the Council proceeding that my child is associated with New York City Public Schools, which we are funding in this budget, and also my child is associated with the Grossest and Moving Mountains. Permission to explain my vote. Permission granted. Thank you.

(01:40:03)

Majority Leader, so they would find analyzing new investments in the people of New York City, which reflect our commitment to opportunity, safety, economic mobility and stronger communities. As the Chair of the Committee on Higher Education, I am proud that this budget delivers historic investments in CUNY, because when we invest in CUNY we invest in New York City's future. CUNY is the economic engine of our City. It is where first generation students, working parents, immigrants, veterans and lifelong learners gain the education and skills that strengthen our workforce and our neighborhoods. It is one of the greatest pathways to the middle class, and this budget recognizes that.

This year we secured $700,000 for a pilot program providing free Omni cards for CUNY students, helping remove one of the biggest barriers to college success: transportation. No student should have to choose between getting to class and paying for groceries. We are investing in the programs that we know change lives, expanding support for CUNY Reconnect, strengthening CUNY ASAP services and growing early childhood workforce development at CUNY to build the next generation of educators our City urgently needs. As the Chair of the Higher Education Committee, I am also equally proud that this budget continues to invest in our youngest learners, strengthening our public schools and supporting the educators and families who make our education system work.

(01:41:20)

Every day. I am also thrilled that we are bringing home critical investments for residents of District 40. This budget delivers meaningful resources for our neighborhoods, our schools, our parks, our cultural institutions and community organizations that make Central Brooklyn such a vibrant place to live. These investments will improve the quality of life, expand opportunities for our young people and strengthen the neighborhood we proudly call home.

Today we are also hearing there is more work ahead. However, this budget is an example of what we accomplish when we work together and put New Yorkers first. I want to thank the Mayor, the Speaker and all of the staff, and countless students, educators, labor partners and community organizations for their partnership in delivering these important investments. Together we have produced a budget that invests in our students, supports working families, strengthens public safety and advances our neighborhoods, and builds a more equitable future for all New Yorkers. And I would like to thank you.

(01:42:15)

Krishnan.

(01:42:16)

I am disclosing on the record of the Council proceedings that the New York City Department of Education and Common Point New York City are funded in the budget we are adopting and my children are associated with those entities.

Our City Council, under the leadership of Speaker Menin and Finance Chair Lee, have secured the largest package of capital and expense investments secured by any City Council in New York City history. I am thankful for the leadership of our Council and Mayor Mamdani for delivering a budget for working families. This budget fights for all of us. It funds our parks, turns the page on former Mayor Adams's corruption and strengthens the Council's work to protect and support workers.

We have delivered a massive victory for our Parks Department. The budget we are signing into law makes sure that Parks workers do not get handed a pink slip on July 1, now or ever. We have created the first ever swim safety initiative, giving us the staff, resources and materials to prevent drownings, and we also expanded Wave Makers, the program that the Speaker and I worked on several years ago that gives second graders free swim lessons across the City.

For the first time in years, the Department of Investigation saw an increase in their funding that goes beyond the Adams era's cuts and slashes. That means we can hold bad landlords, big corporations and government agencies who are letting us down accountable. With the multi-million dollar increase in funding, with the work of our Speaker, CM Brewer and I, we will be able to give the brave men and women who risked their lives during and after 9/11 answers on what our City knew about the air quality.

This budget is also a workers' rights budget. I am proud that we were able to deliver $2.1 million in funding for the first ever non-traditional workers organizing and education initiative. This initiative carries on the historic work we have done in the Council to support workers' rights, from decriminalizing street vending to passing the largest workers' rights legislation for Uber and Lyft drivers, putting an end to their unfair firings and giving them notice and due process. We will make sure workers understand their rights and know our City has their back.

Today we are voting on a budget that moves us beyond corruption and the prioritization of billionaires, to a budget that supports our families, parks and workers, a budget that funds City steps to keep families in their homes and gives their kids a chance to go to college through New York City Kids Rise. I am proud to vote aye today on a budget that delivers for our working families in Queens and across New York City, and to vote aye on all the resolutions. Thank you.

(01:44:41)

Lee. Thank you. So I am just disclosing for the record of the Council proceeding that the New York City Department of Education is funded in the budget we are adopting and my children are associated with that entity, and that Korean Community Services is funded in this budget we are adopting and my husband is associated with that entity. Permission to explain my vote. Permission granted.

Thank you. So I just want to say thank you so much to our Speaker for fighting so hard and negotiating such a strong budget that includes so many historic wins, many of which my colleagues have already highlighted around City FHEPS. Special shout out to CM Pierina as well as a lot of our colleagues who fought so hard to get that into the budget and negotiate it. We still have a lot more work to do, but very thankful for home-bound meals for seniors as well as a lot of the mental health programming that we know is important and keeps New Yorkers safe.

But I just really wanted to spend most of my time — well, before I get to that, a special shout out to all the advocates and providers who participated in all the roundtables, the rallies, the conversations with all of us members, to really fight for and advocate for a lot of their assets and needs and to guide us in that process.

But I wanted to really dedicate my time to recognizing some key people from our Finance team that really did such an amazing, amazing job negotiating this budget and putting everything together. So I am just going to read all your names. Finance Director Nathan..., Managing Director Jonathan Rosenberg, Deputy Directors M. Radev Cheema, Obama..., Paul Simone and..., Chief Economist and Director Delara..., who always schools us on property taxes, Supervising Economists Paul Sturm and Andrew Wilbur, Assistant Directors Ali Ali, Julia Paramus, Florentine..., Caitlyn O'Hagan, James Reyes and Jack..., Chief Counsel Nicholas Connell, Senior Counsel Nadia Jeanne-François, Council Committee..., who always is a writer who sits next to me and shares all his snacks during hearings, Brian..., my Senior Adviser..., and many of the analysts, economists and support staff who work behind the scenes. And shout out to my district staff as well for holding the fort down. With that, I will vote aye on all. Thank you.

(01:47:14)

Louis. I am disclosing for the record of the City Council proceeding that the New York City Parks Department and the MTA are funded in the budget we are adopting and myself and my siblings are respectively associated with these entities. Permission to explain my vote. Permission granted. Thank you.

(01:47:29)

Thank you so much. Today I am proud to vote yes on this historic budget. This is a fiscally responsible budget that invests in essential services, advances our affordability agenda and strengthens our City's fiscal future.

(01:47:44)

And it does all of that without cutting the services our communities depend on. For far too long, libraries, parks, cultural organizations have fought every single budget cycle just to keep their doors open. This budget changes that, permanently baselining funding for our parks, cultural institutions and CUNY.

For homeowners, this budget invests in the Homeowner Help Desk, providing technical support, financial and legal counseling to keep families in their homes. For our neighbors struggling to make the rent, this budget gives crucial investments and expands City FHEPS. I want to commend Speaker Menin and Finance Chair Lee for being historic history-makers with this budget, CM... and the entire Finance team for taking each and every one of my annoying phone calls, and the Speaker's staff for your leadership and hard work. With all that, I vote aye. Thank you. Thank you, Maloney.

(01:48:49)

First I want to disclose on the record of the Council proceedings that the New York Foundation for Senior Citizens is funded in this budget that we are adopting and my sister serves on the board. I also want to disclose that the City University of New York, the Floating Hospital, 92NY and the Metropolitan Opera Association are funded in the budget and my mother is associated with those entities. Permission...

(01:49:13)

...to explain my vote. Permission granted. A budget is a reflection of values, and this one makes a long-term commitment to institutions by restoring and baselining funding for the services that New Yorkers rely on every day. It creates more opportunities for the next generation by increasing New York City Kids Rise college savings accounts, expanding housing vouchers to help more New Yorkers find stable and affordable homes. I am proud to share that we have a $25 million commitment to expand psychiatric care at Bellevue Hospital, located in my district.

This budget delivers library renovations for Hunter College, ADA upgrades at the Met and CUNY Graduate Center, and funding for the Stuy Town Tenants Association, all in my district — the nation's largest tenants association dedicated to preserving affordability. We did all of this while strengthening our City's fiscal footing, adding $300 million to the rainy day fund, bringing that to $400 million this year.

So congratulations to Speaker Menin, to Finance Chair Lee, to Mayor Mamdani and to all of my colleagues in the New York City Council for delivering a budget that protects essential services, strengthens our neighborhoods and invests in New York families. For all these reasons, I am proud to vote yes. Thank you.

(01:50:42)

Marte. I am disclosing on the record of the Council's proceedings that... Green Fortune Society and... Productions are funded in the project budget we are adopting and I and my siblings are associated with those entities. Permission to explain my vote.

(01:50:58)

Permission granted. Thank you. Initially I was going to...

(01:51:01)

...vote no on this budget, but with the work and the commitment that the Speaker has done for workers and working class families across our City, and because of the Chair of our Housing Committee, CM Sanchez, and her dedication on holding the line, it has gotten to a point where, you know, this is not all that we wanted, but we got to a place where we have the commitments, we delivered on some and we have to keep on fighting. Some of those fights are, you know, fighting against privatization of public housing, making sure that workers actually get paid for the hours that they work, making sure that people do not have to give their lives just to have a roof over their heads, and that we choose keeping people in their homes instead of putting them in shelter, putting them on a path of horrible outcomes.

So I want to thank this Council. There is a lot more work that needs to be done. There are a lot more commitments that need to be made and I look forward in the upcoming weeks to delivering, especially for workers in this City who continue to be blindsided by the administration. Thank you.

(01:52:14)

I vote aye. Thank you, Counselor. Thank you, Mealy. I have a... not to explain my vote and just vote. Okay, permission granted.

(01:52:29)

To speak. All right. I will vote aye on all, no on LU... and Res 0514. Keep it down in the Chambers, please. Thank you. I will vote aye. CM Felder, please keep it down, please. Thank you. I vote aye. My top items are Res 0505 and Int 0929-A. Thanks. Happy Fourth. Great...

(01:53:03)

...budget. Thank you, CM Morano. I am disclosing on the record of the Council proceedings that the New York City Department of Education, Lose Helping Hand, Victory for the Voiceless, Prospect Heights Open Street, Ink, Columbia University, City University of New York and the Italian Club of Staten Island are funded in the budget we are adopting, and my child, my siblings and I respectively are associated with those entities. Permission to explain my vote. Permission granted.

First, I want to express my profound gratitude to our Speaker, our Finance Chair and the entire budget negotiating team. Because of their fierce advocacy, this budget delivers incredible historic capital investments for Staten Island, investments that will benefit our borough for generations. This team stood tall, and it is precisely because of their exceptional leadership that I am enthusiastically voting yes on the capital budget today.

I also want to praise my progressive colleagues in this chamber. We do not always see eye to eye, but during these high-stakes negotiations, nobody blinked. My colleagues refused the temptation to be divided or picked off by the other side of City Hall. They stood united as honest brokers for what they felt was right, and that is true public service. I respect all of them for it.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the executive branch, and that is why I must vote no on the expense budget. Yesterday, on the very eve of this vote, we learned that funding for 580 additional NYPD officers was quietly stripped. Just weeks ago, the Police Commissioner and the Budget Director testified right here in this room that these officers were fully funded and critical to keeping violent crime down. To pull the rug out at the eleventh hour, after formal negotiations concluded and when it was too late to negotiate an alternative, is a slap in the face to this body and an insult to the public trust.

I cannot understand how this government can find the time, the money and the focus to name a bunch of stuff for a basketball team and change it all back, but we cannot find a way to hire 580 more cops. Mayor Mamdani has proven himself to be a totally dishonest broker. Good government requires transparency and baseline integrity, not governing by surprise behind closed doors. As proud as I am of our Speaker, I cannot support an expense budget handed down by an administration that negotiates in bad faith and compromises the safety of our streets.

With that, I vote aye on all, with the exception of Int 0031-2026-A, Int 0092-2026-A, Res 0509, Res 0530, Res 0531, Res 0532, Preconsidered Res 0534 and Res 0535, Preconsidered Res 0539 and Res 0540, Preconsidered Res 0543 and LU 0074, Preconsidered Res 0544 and Preconsidered Res 0545 and M 0082, Preconsidered Res 0546 and M 0083. Thank you.

(01:56:03)

Thank you, Councilman. Narcisse.

(01:56:13)

I am disclosing on the record of the Council proceeding that New York University, Brooklyn Hospital, Haitian Americans United for Progress... I find that I am associated with those entities and request permission to expand my vote.

(01:56:32)

Vote. Permission granted.

(01:56:35)

There are no perfect budgets and we are still a work in progress. So to start, I have to say thank you to the Speaker and the leadership and of course the Mayor. I would love to shake their hands, but there is a lot more to work on. I have to say thank you to Jonathan and all the finance team. You have been amazing to me. Thank you for not ignoring me when I talk, because there are needs in the community. Miguel, Mick, Elena and Nicole in the office, I want to say thank you. And to all the Speaker's team, thank you.

I am looking forward to working on getting a rec center, but it is not possible as yet. My children for this summer do not have a swimming pool, so I am wondering... they cannot swim in a bucket. So I am saying it. I am putting it on the floor that we need to have a rec center in the community for the children.

Thank you again. The Speaker worked very hard and all of us and all the team and all my colleagues. City... that we talk so much about. $175 million, so thank you. Businesses, we have a space for you to come in and understand that mental health is very important now. So many baseline parks... death is a problem in our community. Thank you. Libraries, veterans — we address all those in this budget. Fair, right? I have participated and so many people come out to say thank you all the time that we are able to provide the support.

Seniors are not left out in this budget. We cover people's needs. Health care was present in that budget. So all I am saying is that it is not perfect. We have a lot...

(01:58:15)

...more work to do, but I want to say thank you to all the leadership that came up from the Speaker's side and the Mayor's office. Thank you for all the street namings in my district and Marley. Thank you for the advocacy to bring it to my attention. So to all the chairs, thank you so much. I vote aye.

(01:58:37)

Sorry. I just want to remind folks that we need to maintain quorum throughout the evening. I understand members are attempting to leave, but we need to keep quorum, especially during the resolutions, so please stay. Thank you.

(01:58:56)

CM Nurse, explain your vote. Permission?

(01:58:59)

Granted.

(01:58:59)

I just want to first of all thank CM Hudson for the street co-naming of Little Panama. I see my extended family up there, Juanita and Gregorio Myers. So thank you for your work and all of your efforts to continue our traditions. Viva Panama! And thank you to everybody, all the staff who worked on this budget. I also want to thank Gabriella Mendoza, our intern who is here today. She did fabulous work this year for our office. I vote aye on all except Int 0929-2026-A. Thank you.

(01:59:39)

Thank you. I vote aye on all with the exception of Int 0929-2026-A, on which I am a no, and Int 0553-2026-A, on which I abstain. Thank you. CM Paladino.

(01:59:59)

Permission to explain my vote. Permission granted. I have been a member of the City Council for nearly five years and until now I voted yes on every City budget. None of these budgets were perfect. Each of them contained many things I disagreed with, but this is not about demanding perfection. It is about making responsible decisions and choices that lay in front of us.

Unfortunately this year is different. This year I have to vote no. Even by the standards of our dysfunctional City government, this budget represents a complete departure from fiscal reality. It spends more money than New York City has ever spent at precisely the moment that we could least afford it. This is the largest single-year increase in spending in history. It depends on new taxes from Albany, pension deferrals, budget bailouts from the Governor, and even the revenue projections are optimistic. This is not a balanced budget. This is a budget by bailout. It is a ticking time bomb and the beginning of a fiscal death spiral that our current leadership will not be able to pull us out of, because they lack both the experience and the seriousness to do so.

What will we do next year and then the year after that? The only sustainable way to support higher spending is to sustain economic growth by retaining and supporting businesses, encouraging private investment and expanding our tax base. Instead, we are doing the exact opposite. We are actively chasing out the very people we need most with political stunts and threats that alienate entire sectors of our economy, while we nickel and dime the working class. The middle class, the financial sector, businesses of all sizes are choosing to go elsewhere and they are being replaced with low-income residents that require significant subsidies just to survive.

Please wrap up. We waited five hours... Council, sorry. Let me just finish up my one thing. One thing, let me get this out. Okay, CM, your time is up. Please... my time is up. We waited five hours to speak today. Please use your mike. Okay, let me just say this... I vote no on Int 0031-2026-A, Int 0092-2026-A, Res 0535-2026, Preconsidered Res 0539-2026, Res 0500... Preconsidered Res 0544-2026, M 0080-2026, Preconsidered Res 0545-2026, M 0081-2026, Preconsidered Res 0546-2026 and M 0082-2026. Thank you.

(02:03:56)

CM Restler. Great. Thank you. I will take the opportunity to engage from there. I actually think that this Mayor deserves credit for an honest accounting of our financial obligations. When he came into office, after years of corruption and cronyism, he gave a real analysis of the actual costs that we are facing as a City and presented an honest budget, and then went up to Albany and actually secured the billions of dollars that were needed to present a balanced executive budget. It was an impressive performance. I am grateful to the Mayor and the Speaker and our finance chair and of course the Council finance staff and the OMB staff for all the hard work that went into this adopted budget.

There are many good things in here for us to celebrate. As always, there is more money for parks and more money for CUNY and more money for libraries and more money for cultural institutions, and lots of things like Fair Fares that I am really proud to see us investing in. But most notably, our accomplishment on City FEPS, led by CM Pierina Sanchez and supported by our Speaker and this body and many great advocates, was a remarkable achievement that will help tens of thousands of families afford to live in New York City. We did not get everywhere we wanted to on vacant NYCHA units, where there are more than 6,000 of them today and there are going to be a similar number a year from now. We did not get everywhere we wanted to go on vacant supportive housing — there are still going to be too many a year from now. But there were many good investments in this budget for which I am proud to vote aye.

(02:05:51)

CM Marte, disclosures please.

(02:05:53)

On my disclosures, the Mayor's Office of Management and Budget is funded in this budget and I am very proud of my wife who works there. The Mercantile Library Association of the City of New York and Brooklyn Heights Association are funded in this budget and I am proud of my mom, who serves on the board of both of those organizations. Thank you.

(02:06:16)

Thank you, CM Marte. CM Riley. Thank you.

(02:06:18)

I am disclosing on the record of the Council proceeding that the Bronx Public Administrator's Office, New York City's Department of Education, Girl Scouts of Greater New York, YMCA, the New York City Administration for Children's Services and others are funded in the budget we are adopting, and my spouse, children, business associate and parent sibling are respectively associated with those entities. Majority Leader, I request permission to explain my vote.

(02:06:47)

Permission granted. Thank you. Today I am proud to vote to support this budget. Throughout this process I have been proud to work with Speaker Menin, Finance Chair Linda Lee, Council colleagues, Mayor Mamdani and his administration and most importantly our finance team. We delivered a fiscally responsible budget that lowers the cost of living, expands opportunity and strengthens the central services New Yorkers rely on each and every single day.

This budget reflects our shared commitment to invest in people and create pathways to opportunity, from helping families build generational wealth to expanding college savings accounts for public school students, to making critical investments that strengthen housing stability and support communities across our City. Budgets are a reflection of our values and this agreement demonstrates what is possible when we work together with purpose. I am proud to support this budget that invests in working families while laying a stronger foundation for a more affordable, equitable and prosperous New York City tomorrow. With that being said, I vote aye on all with the exception of Int 0092-2026-A, on which I am a no. Thank you.

(02:08:04)

CM Salaam, disclosures on the record of the Council...

(02:08:06)

...proceedings that YMCA is funded in this budget that we are adopting and that my family and I are associated with that nonprofit. Permission to explain my vote.

(02:08:17)

Permission granted. Thank you for the opportunity to share the pride that I feel for the efforts of my colleagues. I want to thank the Mayor and I also want to thank our Chair of Finance, Linda Lee, and the entire Council team. But I want to especially thank our Speaker, Julie Menin, whose hard work and dedication delivered a budget that puts New Yorkers first. Their leadership helped secure a historic agreement to expand City FEPS, ending years of litigation and creating a stronger, more sustainable program that will help keep more New Yorkers safely housed for years to come.

This budget also includes the largest — the largest, in fact — expansion of Fair Fares in the program's history, including increasing, as has been said, eligibility to 200% of the federal poverty level and providing an additional 340,000 New Yorkers with access to half-price subway and bus fares. These accomplishments reflect the Council leadership's ability to negotiate thoughtfully and responsibly, reaching agreements that are truly in the best interests of our City while delivering meaningful results for working class families. Again, congratulations to our Speaker Julie Menin, Linda Lee and every single person involved in making this budget a success.

(02:09:56)

Thank you. Thank you.

(02:10:04)

CM Pierina Sanchez. I am disclosing on the record of the Council proceedings that the City University of New York and Neighborhood Defender Services are funded in the budget we are adopting and my sibling and business associate respectively are associated with those entities. Majority Leader, permission to explain my vote. Permission granted.

I want to take a moment to thank everyone involved in the City FEPS win for low-income and working class New Yorkers. Mary Cronen and Susan... the Speaker's team, Camille, my fellow Dominican Ana, Jonathan Trick and Bob Trimbole, Simone Jones, the whole comms team, Julia... Spencer Fang, Henry Robbins, the Progressive Caucus who really held me down and held us together, especially the leadership — CM Cabán, CM Nurse, CM Avilés and CM Epstein — who fought this case and won in the courts. Maca Hebert, Amanda... Jeff Campagna who was up many nights. Thank you. The legislative division, Andrea Vasquez, Jeff Baker, the finance team, especially Jonathan Rosenberg, McConnell and Julia... the Legal Aid Society, our co-counsel, Judith Goldner, Robert... the coalition: VOCAL New York, Win, the Homes Can't Wait Coalition, Coalition for the Homeless, Volunteers of America, Safety Net Project, Community Service Society. My team, especially my Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Ben Ratner and Deputy Chief for Communications and Public Engagement... but also Gerard, Danahlia, Arianna, Maria — our chief, there are two of them, two Marias. Our interns, Mia, Marcus and Ari. And finally my family, my husband Devon, and Yaya and Lalo. Thank you for sharing your mommy with New York City. Thank you to my mom and dad and my brother. Our neighbors, thank you for helping with child care over the many weekends and late nights that we had to work.

I am thrilled about what we accomplished today. I am thrilled about many other parts of the budget. The historic street vending reforms have money in this budget to be implemented in the next year. Please wrap up. Can you please tell me how you are voting? Yes. Okay. Thank you. I vote...

(02:12:31)

...aye on all with the exception of Int 0929-2026-A and Int 0553-2026-A, on which I abstain. Thank you. My apologies. CM, no or abstain? CM Epstein. Oh, thank you.

(02:12:44)

Thank you. CM Epstein.

(02:12:57)

Permission to explain my vote. Permission granted. I want to thank the Mayor and Speaker and definitely their respective staffs for landing the plane today. In particular, I am grateful that our City FEPS lawsuit is resolved and that we are on a path to preventing thousands more evictions. I am hopeful that in budgets to come that number expands and I am grateful to the Progressive Caucus and CM Pierina Sanchez for the leadership and commitment to City FEPS.

At the same time, I am disappointed that other Progressive Caucus priorities did not make it to the levels of funding that they should have today. In particular, funding to fill NYCHA vacancies and funding for expanding supportive housing, which constituents in my district would have benefited enormously from. I am saddened that we are missing out on the urgent and important opportunity we had to house people faster. So for those in my district facing eviction but unable to apply for City FEPS, on a wait list or in need of supportive housing, we have not forgotten you and we will continue fighting for you.

In positive news, I am excited for the baseline for parks workers and hopeful that this puts us on a path to securing a baseline 1% of the budget for parks. I am also thrilled at the funding for libraries, childcare and immigration legal services. This budget will also fund big projects in our district, from new school gymnasiums and science labs to improvements to the beloved Coney Island Aquarium. Additionally, we secured millions of dollars in funding for nonprofits to continue their critical work across the district.

I have been inspired time and time again by the clarity, intelligence and courage displayed by my colleagues throughout this process, especially the Progressive Caucus. Along the road ahead of us to create a more affordable, equitable and just City, we have leaders of conviction and integrity to lead the way. So I vote aye on the budget. On legislation, I vote aye on Int 0910-2026-A, which will prevent thousands of New York City's small business owners from having to pay upwards of $10,000 to replace their roll-down security gates. That is important to me as a small business owner. Thank you, CM Ossé, for your swift action with this legislation. I am voting no on Int 0553-2026-A simply because there is already a state program that covers this that is underutilized. I am voting no on Int 0956-2026 because at a time when protest is being punished by this presidential administration, I do not want to ascribe my name to something that even hints at the possibility of curtailing First Amendment rights, though I am grateful for all of the amendments to this legislation. Aye on the remainder. Thank you all. Congratulations on the...

(02:15:12)

...budget. Thank you, CM Schulman. I am disclosing on...

(02:15:16)

...the record of the Council proceedings that the Office of the Mayor of the City of New York is funded in the budget we are adopting and my sibling is associated with that entity. Permission to explain my vote. Permission granted. Thank you, Majority Leader. Today I am proudly voting aye on one of the most robust and comprehensive budgets this Council has passed in quite a while. I want to thank and congratulate Speaker Julie Menin for spearheading a budget that reflects what we value as a City. This budget makes important investments in our communities by providing housing for those who are homeless, tackling food insecurity, enhancing our parks and libraries, supporting older adults, improving health and quality of life by keeping our neighborhoods safe and clean and continuing to strengthen the programs New Yorkers rely on every day.

As chair of the Committee on Health, I am especially pleased that this budget includes investments in the Spain... a pilot initiative I introduced last year and provides for a much-needed pet pantry program. I also want to thank the Speaker for the $10 million investment in the Far Rockaway trauma center, which is something...

(02:16:12)

That is sorely needed. We need a lot more, but this is a great start and it has not been done before, so I want to thank her for that. This year I am privileged to have more than $2.2 million in discretionary funding to support local arts organizations in my district and more than $10 million in capital funding to benefit my constituents. More details to follow on that, so stay tuned. Thank you again to Speaker Menin and special thanks to the Speaker's negotiating team, Angelina, Jonathan and Nathan, and the City Council Finance Division. My colleagues and my wonderful staff, led by my Chief of Staff Jonathan Boucher and Kevin McLear, my budget director, for their hard work throughout this budget process. I also want to mention that I have a street named, aiming for Spider-Man Way in Forest Hills. For nearly 65 years, Spider-Man has represented the very best of Queens, and actually, believe it or not, there is a Parker family that did live at 20 Ingram Street. So I am very much looking forward to that, and with that, I vote aye on all.

(02:17:26)

Thank you. CM Stevens, I would like the funded from the budget we are adopting, and my child's representative are associated with those entities. Permission to explain my vote. Granted.

(02:17:45)

A budget is more than numbers on a spreadsheet. This document reflects who we value, who we prioritize and whether we are willing to invest in the communities that have been asked to do more with less for generations. I represent one of the poorest districts in our City. Yet our district allocations were more than disappointing, and for the first time we got no investments. Given the level of investments, it is just inadequate for a community facing deep challenges in housing, youth services, public safety, education and economic opportunities. The amount feels like crumbs.

Equality cannot simply mean a slogan. Equality means people who need more should get more. If we truly believe in fairness, the communities carrying the greatest burden should be the ones not left fighting over the smallest resources. Dr. Martin Luther King once said, "Our America has often taken necessities from the masses to give luxury to the classes. God never intended for one group of people to live in wealth while others lived in poverty." Those words still challenge us today.

When I ran for office, it was not for a title. It was to ensure that our voice would be heard, and that for families, young people, seniors and working class residents who are often overlooked, they deserve more than just symbolic support. It saddens me that I cannot tell my constituents that this budget fully meets the urgency of their needs. And while I respect the hard work of the negotiations, I must be honest about where District 16 stands. So today I am voting no on this budget, not because I have given up on my community, but because I believe we deserve better. And let us be clear, District 16 is resilient. We will continue to organize, advocate and raise our voices until our community receives the investments, dignity and opportunity we have always deserved. I will also be voting no on Int 0929-2026-A and Res 0540-2026 tonight. Thank you.

(02:19:51)

CM Thomas-Henry.

(02:19:53)

I am disclosing on the record of the Council proceedings that the Learning Tree, the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning and the Edge School of the Arts are funded in the budget we are adopting, and my children are associated with those entities. With that being said, I vote aye on all.

(02:20:13)

Thank you. I am disclosing on the record of the Council proceedings that the entity is funded in the budget and I am associated with that entity. Permission to explain my vote. Permission granted. Thank you.

(02:20:30)

The budget we are voting on today reflects real, impactful investments in communities across New York, under the leadership of Speaker Menin. This is a budget that funds our parks, expands access to housing vouchers for families in need and increases resources for vendor enforcement. I know I speak for parents in my district when I say that I am particularly excited for the $53 million investment in New York City Rise secured in this budget. In immigrant communities like the one that I represent, this program gives every child, regardless of their family's income or immigration status, a chance at college education or vocational training. There are many families who might not be familiar with accounts like 529s, but this shows them that they have available options to save for college. I also want to thank the Speaker's team and the finance team for your hard work. I vote aye. Thank you.

(02:21:31)

CM Vernikov.

(02:21:32)

I vote aye on all with the exception of Int 0031-2026-A and Int 0092-2026-A, and Res 0529-2026, Res 0531-2026 and Res 0532-2026, and Preconsidered Res 0534-2026 and Res 0535-2026, Preconsidered Res 0539-2026, Res 0540-2026 and M 0069-2026, Preconsidered Res 0543-2026 and M 0074-2026, Preconsidered Res 0544-2026 and M 0080-2026, Preconsidered Res 0545-2026 and M 0081-2026, and Preconsidered Res 0546-2026 and M 0082-2026, on which I vote no. Thank you.

(02:22:20)

CM Nantasha Williams.

(02:22:24)

I am disclosing on the record of the Council proceedings that the Children's Rescue Fund, the City University of New York in Queens and a local chapter of Delta Sigma Beta are funded in the budget we are adopting, and my siblings and I, respectively, are associated with those entities. Permission to explain my vote. Permission granted. Thank you so much.

Today's vote reflects a shared commitment to making strategic investments that strengthen our neighborhoods, support working families and expand opportunity across New York City. This year's budget includes much needed and historic investments in the cultural sector, our libraries, for homeowners and for those folks who are in housing, and also advancing racial equity. Our responsibility does not end with passing a budget. It continues with delivering on these investments and ensuring New Yorkers see the impact.

I just wanted to end with a round of thank yous. I want to thank Speaker Julie Menin for all her hard work, the administration and all of the amazing finance staff that I bother so much. I do not want to go through the list again, but all the folks that she mentioned, thank you all so very much. Some I have had even more conversations with, some I have had less, but I just appreciate you all for dealing with me and for all of your hard work during this year's budget and working so hard behind the scenes to bring everything together. And with that, I vote aye on all. Thank you.

(02:23:59)

Thank you. CM Wilson, permission to explain my vote. Permission granted. I am excited to vote

(02:24:04)

yes on this year's budget, my first one. I know I just got here a few weeks ago, so I cannot take credit for everything, but I do want to highlight some of the bigger wins in the budget. This budget comes at a time when the Trump administration is taking health care away from the neediest, violating the rights of transgender New Yorkers, trying to instill fear in our immigrant communities and doing incredible damage to the cultural, social and legal fabric of our country. This budget, by contrast, is a more hopeful and humane alternative.

There are aspects of this budget that are long time coming and are huge wins. The expansion of Fair Fares is an incredible win for the City, and I want to congratulate the Council member for her tireless work on this initiative. The expansion of Fair Fares is going to provide access and reliable transit for thousands of New Yorkers. And we have got big news for New York's youngest, with every New York City public school kindergartener now receiving a college savings account, which will help families build wealth, expand opportunity and invest in the next generation. We here at the City Council just welcomed

(02:25:12)

back our co-worker Rafael, who was wrongfully detained by ICE for over five months. We have fought hard for him and have been outspoken about the atrocities of ICE. In this budget we made sure to back up our word by providing over $86 million for our service providers to continue providing legal support for our immigrant neighbors in need. I want to thank Speaker Julie Menin for her leadership and holding firm on the Council's priorities, Finance Committee Chair Linda Lee for her expertise and Mayor Adams for his partnership, as well as advocates and all of my colleagues here. While no budget solves every New York problem, I believe we are passing a budget that supports all the members of our community and brings us closer to a more equitable, fair and progressive New York City. And with that, I vote aye on all. Thank you.

(02:26:00)

Thank you. CM Ariola.

(02:26:01)

I want to disclose on the record that my son attends an early childhood education center run by the Department of Education in my district. And I vote no on Int 0929-2026-A, Int 0553-2026-A and the rest. Thank you.

(02:26:26)

I vote yes on all except for Int 0031-2026-A, Int 0092-2026-A and Preconsidered Resolutions Res 0531-2026, Res 0532-2026, Res 0534-2026 and Res 0535-2026. Thank you.

(02:26:51)

CM Wong, I am disclosing on the record of the Council proceedings that the New York City Department of Education and the Jewish Community House and cultural centers are funded in the budget we are adopting, and my children are associated with those entities. Can I get permission to explain my vote.

(02:27:20)

Permission granted.

(02:27:22)

Thank you. When I became Chair of the Committee on Aging, I made the promise that our seniors should never be an afterthought. I am glad to see that we will get a $12 million expansion for those who need it most. As the mother of two, I have fought for the parks in my district. I want to make sure all the kids have a safe park to go to, and I am very happy to see we will have more Parks officers. These are the backyards of New York City. I am also very happy to see our libraries fully funded and our kids have a place for seven days of reading. For the working families, I want to thank CM Sanchez, who fights so hard, and also the Speaker for holding the line for parks, because no one should lose their home in the city they helped to build. I want to shout out our Speaker, the Finance Chair Linda Lee and the finance team who championed every one of those fights alongside us. You guys did a wonderful job. Thank you. And I will also say no budget is perfect. No one will be a hundred percent satisfied, but I think this is a good budget and we have more work to do, but we will keep fighting for New York City. Thank you. And I vote aye on the budget and everything. Thank you.

(02:28:57)

I want to abstain on Res 0534-2026 and Res 0535-2026. Thank you.

(02:29:11)

CM Morano is disclosing on the record of the Council proceedings that the Italian Club of Staten Island, the Jewish Community Center of Staten Island and the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum are funded in the budget we are adopting, and he is associated with those organizations, and New York City Health and Hospitals is funded in the budget we are adopting and his spouse is associated with that entity. Majority Leader, permission to explain my vote. Permission

(02:29:40)

granted.

(02:29:40)

Thank you. I want to begin by thanking the folks in this room who are happiest that the budget process is concluding, and that is the staff. In particular my team, Peter, Spencer, Lorenza, Antonio, my budget director and my Chief of Staff Deputy Dario, the Speaker's office and Jonathan and the Finance Division led by Nathan. I thank Charlie for mentioning all the names earlier because they deserve to be said aloud for all the great work and hard hours that they put in. I also really want to thank the Speaker for all of her support in this budget. She set out to really disprove the notion that Staten Island is the forgotten borough, and wearing my Staten Island delegation hat for a moment, I have to thank her for the incredible investment that she has made in Staten Island. It is probably the largest single year investment in recent memory, and she is really showing that her intentions turned into action, and I cannot thank her enough for everything she is going to be doing to improve the quality of life in Staten Island.

There are also huge wins in this budget that could not have happened but for her leadership and the advocacy of the Council, that are important not only to Staten Island but all boroughs: cultural institutions, libraries and investments in our Parks Department that are better taking care of our open spaces and recreation areas, and actual money being put away for savings in the rainy day fund. We are light years away from where we were earlier in the year when the rainy day fund was being raided and we were threatened with property tax increases of nine and a half percent. Thanks to the leadership of this Council and in particular our Speaker, that never came to pass. And there are so many things to champion in this budget. All budgets are full of things we love and full of things that we do not love. I talked about some of the ones that I love just now, but one of the things that I do not love about this budget is one in particular that looms large over this moment, and that is the missing funding for 580 officers.

I was pleasantly surprised when the administration indicated that it was promising to expand the NYPD uniform headcount by 580 officers. For someone who has been trying to get us back to peak service levels over the course of my tenure, this was good news and it was one that I was going to be taking back home to my constituents as a reason for supporting this budget. A budget, like everything else, contains things that they will love and things that they will not. And consistently what I have seen over the course of my tenure in government, whether now as a member or before as a member of staff, is that the NYPD is increasingly asked to do less with less. And I am a fiscal conservative. I always want to see if we could be creative and do more with less, but the standard that is being imposed on the NYPD is unsustainable. They are a cornerstone of our civil service, and the decision at the last minute, at the eleventh hour, as my colleague was describing earlier, to pull away this funding and say that it is not needed, beggars belief.

All the folks on the other side of the building in the Mayor's office would need to do to realize that they are wrong about what is needed in terms of service levels at the NYPD is to talk to the rank and file, talk to the labor unions that represent them. This is supposed to be a labor friendly town where we defer to the expertise of our partners in labor, unless you are on the other side of the building and that labor organization wears a uniform. We need to make sure that the NYPD stops relying not only on overtime but mandatory overtime, that is demoralizing and fatiguing our law enforcement. They do not have enough officers to meet the demands that they have in an ordinary course of a year, both with increasing numbers of events like FIFA and unexpected good events like the Knicks celebrations, the parade and all the watch parties and all the other things that happen that we do not anticipate in a year. There are not enough officers to meet the need. In Staten Island we have fewer officers today than we had 30 years ago when we were half the size that we are. That is unsustainable, and that is why I cannot support a budget that is now missing this committed promise from the administration. And considering where we began with this budget process, where the Mayor inflated a deficit and that inflation was laid bare as false by the hard work of our Council leadership, our Speaker, our Chair of the Finance Committee, and now where we are today where they are saying

(02:34:06)

that we do not need the police officers that they promised, this is not the honest and good faith partner that we need in our budget process on the other side of the building. So with that being said, I will be voting no on Int 0031-2026-A, Int 0092-2026-A, Res 0429-2026, Res 0531-2026 and Res 0532-2026, Preconsidered Res 0534-2026 and Res 0535-2026, Preconsidered Res 0539-2026 and Res 0540-2026 with accompanying M 0069-2026, Preconsidered Res 0543-2026 and M 0074-2026, Preconsidered Res 0544-2026 and Res 0545-2026 and M 0081-2026, and Preconsidered Res 0546-2026 and M 0082-2026, and aye on the rest. Thank you. Minority Leader, I believe you already made your disclosures. Okay. Thank you.

(02:35:03)

CM Paladino, I believe the Council member has to make an additional

(02:35:09)

disclosure. I would also like to disclose that we are funding a nonprofit in this budget and myself and my family are associated with that organization. I vote aye on all.

(02:35:26)

Speaker Menin. I would like to disclose on the record that the 92nd Street Y is funded in the budget we are adopting and my family is associated with that entity. I vote aye on all. And I know I did a lot of thank yous this morning at the budget handshake and earlier today in my speech, but once again, thank you to the hard working finance team. You have gotten such little sleep and we would not be at this moment without you. And I think it really bears noting that our finance team, so many of them have been here for many, many years. They have worked through multiple speakers, multiple mayors. It is not about who the Speaker is or who the Mayor is. It is about the work of helping New Yorkers, and we owe you a debt of gratitude for everything you have done. And once again, thank you to my whole team who has just been tremendous. Meg, Alina, Jonathan, Simone, Jon, Bob, our whole comms team, Henry, Jack, Yoav, who have literally worked... I mean, they have been helping all of the members. I just really cannot thank them all enough. We so deeply appreciate the amazing work that you have done. Thank you.

(02:36:44)

Now give us a few minutes to tally the votes. Thank you.

(02:37:29)

Hmm, no, it is the man. Oh, man. All come here. Okay? Come. You want to, you know that. Thank you.

(02:39:02)

Councilmember, one moment please. Oh, shake. Are you stretching? I am ready. Ready to get out of here. Keep it down in the Chambers. We do have a ton of resolutions I am about to read very shortly. Do not forget. And we at the moment have six folks signed up for general discussion. Work it up with your colleagues, but please keep it down. Thank you.

(02:40:15)

Yeah, yeah. And a reminder that no one can leave. All right, keep it down. Tallies coming.

(02:41:05)

Items on today's General Order Calendar adopted by a vote of 51 in the affirmative, zero in the negative and zero abstentions, with the exception of Int 0031-2026-A, which was adopted by a vote of 45 in the affirmative, six in the negative and zero abstentions, and Int 0092-2026-A, which was adopted by a vote of 41 in the affirmative, ten in the negative and zero abstentions. Res 0529-2026, which was adopted by a vote of 45 in the affirmative, six in the negative and zero abstentions. Res 0530-2026, which was adopted by a vote of 44 in the affirmative, seven in the negative and zero abstentions. Res 0531-2026, which was adopted by a vote of 44 in the affirmative, seven in the negative and zero abstentions. Res 0532-2026, which was adopted by a vote of 44 in the affirmative, seven in the negative and zero abstentions. Res 0534-2026, which was adopted by a vote of 43 in the affirmative, seven in the negative and one abstention. Res 0535-2026, which was adopted by a vote of 43 in the affirmative, seven in the negative. M 0069-2026 with Res 0540-2026, which was adopted by a vote of 45 in the affirmative, six in the negative and zero abstentions. M 0074-2026 with Res 0543-2026, which was adopted by a vote of 45 in the affirmative, six in the negative and zero abstentions. M 0080-2026 with Res 0544-2026, which was adopted by a vote of 40 in the affirmative, ten in the negative and zero abstentions.

M 0081-2026 with Res 0545-2026, which was adopted by a vote of 46 in the affirmative, five in the negative and zero abstentions. M 0082-2026 with Res 0546-2026, which was adopted by a vote of 46 in the affirmative, five in the negative. Int 0553-2026-A, which was adopted by a vote of 44 in the affirmative, four in the negative and three abstentions. Int 0929-2026-A, which was adopted by a vote of 39 in the affirmative, ten in the negative and two abstentions. Res 0533-2026, which was adopted by a vote of 50 in the affirmative, one in the negative and zero abstentions. Int 0956-2026, which was adopted by a vote of 15 in the affirmative, some in the negative and one abstention. M 0070-2026 with Res 0541-2026, which was adopted by a vote of 50 in the affirmative, zero in the negative.

(02:43:27)

And one abstention. I now formally declare that the Executive Expense Revenue Contract Budget, the Executive Capital Budget and the Community Development Program for Fiscal Year 2027 have hereby been adopted as modified and in accordance with the Charter of the City of New York as of the 30th day of June 2026. Congratulations, Council Members. Introduction and reading of Bills. All those have been referred to committee as indicated on today's agenda.

(02:44:07)

Thank you. We are now moving to discussion of resolutions. We have two folks signed up. CM Maloney followed by CM Paladino. All right, Majority Leader, please keep it down. Please keep it down for the Councilmember.

(02:44:25)

One more thing to celebrate today. I am introducing a resolution establishing an annual Knicks Day in New York City on June 13. For 53 years, New Yorkers waited for this moment. Across all five boroughs, neighbors gathered in living rooms, sports bars and community spaces to watch the game, and once again the Knicks reminded us that there is nowhere quite like New York. We will remember that year after year. An annual Knicks Day will ensure that we celebrate not only a championship, but the resilience, determination and pride that this team inspired across every borough. The Knicks' legacy deserves a permanent place on our City's calendar. So congratulations once again to the 2026 champion New York Knicks. Thank you.

(02:45:10)

Thank you, Councilmember. I believe CM Paladino, you do not want to speak. All right. I see no one else signed up. Keep it down, please. If you see no one else signed up for resolutions, that is right. We will have a voice vote on today's resolutions. If you wish to vote against or abstain from any of today's resolutions, please notify the Legislative Documents Unit by email or by approaching the dais. I will now read today's resolutions into the record. Res 0005-2026 commemorates the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. All those in favor, say aye. All opposed, say nay. Any abstentions. The ayes have it. Res 0015-2026 declares July 2 annually in the City of New York as Freedom Day to commemorate the anniversary of the vote of the Second Continental Congress to declare independence from Great Britain in 1776. All those in favor, say aye. All opposed, say nay. Any abstentions. The ayes have it. Res 0069-2026 unequivocally opposes President Trump's executive order restricting protections for transgender students and calling on the New York State Department of Education to ensure that all schools in New York City continue to uphold policies that protect the rights and dignity of transgender and gender nonconforming students, regardless of federal directives. All those in favor, say aye. All opposed, say nay. Any abstentions. The ayes have it.

Res 0143-2026-A calls on the New York State Legislature to pass and the New York State Governor to sign legislation which would create unlimited transfers within a two-hour period of paying the subway or bus fare for paper MetroCard users. All those in favor...

(02:46:49)

...say aye. All opposed, say nay. Any abstentions. The ayes have it. Preconsidered Res 0525-2026 celebrates the New York Knicks as they win the 2026 championship. All those in favor, say aye. All opposed, say nay. Any abstentions. The ayes have it. Preconsidered Res 0527-2026 commemorates the pivotal political and military role of New York City in the birth of the United States of America 250 years ago. All those in favor, say aye. All opposed, say nay. The ayes have it. Preconsidered Res 0528-2026 calls on the New York State Legislature to introduce and pass, and the Governor to sign, legislation to amend the Education Law in relation to requiring instruction on the history, contributions and experiences of people of African descent in public schools. All those in favor, say aye. All opposed, say nay. Any abstentions. The ayes have it. Preconsidered Res 0536-2026 declares June 13 as New York Knicks Day in the City of New York to celebrate the contributions of the world-class basketball team to the City's culture and civic identity. All those in favor, say aye. All opposed, say nay. Any abstentions. The ayes have it. Preconsidered Res 0537-2026 celebrates the historical documents that contributed to the birth of the United States of America and are on display at the New York Public Library as part of the nation's 250th anniversary events. All those in favor, say aye. All opposed, say nay. Any abstentions. The ayes have it.

Preconsidered Res 0538-2026 calling for famed New York City locations to be ceremonially named for one year in honor of the 2026 champion New York Knicks. All those in favor, say aye. All opposed, say nay. Any abstentions. The ayes have it. We will now...

(02:48:55)

...move into general discussion, beginning with CM Brewer, followed by CM Brooks-Powers. Very quickly, I do want to thank Cynthia Horning from my office for all her work on the budget. Number two, we had 15 interns here. They all left, but they will have lunch with me tomorrow. So I want to thank them. And finally, just quickly, I did not have a chance when I was talking about... please keep it down in the chamber. Let the Councilmember speak. Thank you. When I was talking about Cecile Richards Way on 83rd Street, I did not give her full credit for all the work she did at Planned Parenthood. She was a civil rights leader, and I want to thank two people, Deborah Bernaards and Carol Portlock, for their persistence in making this sign possible, and very especially her husband, Kirk Adams, for making it also possible. We will miss her tremendously. I knew her mom and I know she fell in the same category of an amazing woman in our country. Thank you very much.

(02:49:50)

CM Brooks-Powers, followed by...

(02:49:53)

...CM Morano. Thank you. I will try to make this brief. I wanted to just take a moment to acknowledge my Deputy Chief of Staff, Julian Martin, who will be departing City Council this Thursday. Julian will be moving to Europe. He has been accepted into a master's program. He has been an amazing addition to my team. He has served the 31st Council District extremely well. Our constituents are really sad to see him go. I am really excited about this next chapter that he is going to be embarking on, but we are truly, truly, truly going to feel a significant gap in our team just from his advocacy and his brilliance in terms of legislation as well. So, Julian, we wish you well, and I just ask my colleagues and other Council staff to join me in saying thank you to Julian Martin.

(02:50:59)

CM Morano, he will bide his time. CM Nurse, I do not see her — she was here earlier. For the members of the public, CM Feliz and then CM Sanchez.

(02:51:15)

And she is our last speaker. I am so sorry. Okay. I just ran out of time and I did not want to be disrespectful of my Leader when I ran out of time. I did have one more thank you in my remarks, and that was to the Mayor's side. You know, they stayed at the table. I said this in many interviews — you know, they kept picking up the calls, they kept negotiating, and I want to acknowledge that, especially Corp Counsel Steve Banks, who created a program a decade ago, Andrew Kaplan and the Mayor's Office, and some relationships were hurt, but I think we did something monumental here today and I was very proud of that. Thank you for the time. Thank you.

(02:52:04)

Thank you, colleagues. I will now call on Speaker Julie Menin to close today's stated meeting.

(02:52:12)

The stated meeting of June 30, 2026 is hereby closed.