The 15 members who left were ousted because they refused to sign onto a new “Statement of Principles” that includes a commitment to "reduce the size and scope of the NYPD.”
Though symbolic, the decision to not vote on Adams’ budget modification is significant from a historical perspective. A veteran Council insider told the Daily News he could not recall it ever happening.
Mayor Adams’ preliminary 2024 fiscal year budget, the release of which marked the first step in a months-long negotiation process with the Council, keeps spending mostly flat across the city’s various municipal agencies as compared to the funding levels set in the mayor’s November fiscal modification plan.
In her response to the mayor, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Queens) signaled that Hizzoner has failed to effectively help the most vulnerable in his first-draft spending plan and urged him to do more to support affordable housing, mental health care, and city parks.