NYC’s $126B budget grows housing aid, leaves NYPD staffing flat

NEW YORK, United States (MNTV) — Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin have finalized a nearly $126 billion budget for fiscal year 2027 after negotiations went down to the wire — and the deal marks a real shift in priorities: expanded housing aid, no increase in NYPD staffing.

The centerpiece is a new $175 million rental assistance program for residents at risk of eviction who don’t qualify for existing aid, run through the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

It layers onto a housing voucher system that’s already grown from about $25 million in 2019 to well over a billion dollars today — a trajectory supporters call a smart investment in preventing homelessness and critics call a sustainability risk.

As part of the deal, the administration is dropping its appeal in a legal fight with the Council over previously vetoed voucher expansions.

The budget does not include the NYPD staffing increase the administration had floated earlier.

Officials say the department will manage through internal adjustments instead; some council members and public safety officials aren’t convinced, warning of strain on patrol coverage.

Major allocations: $37.9 billion for the Department of Education, $14.6 billion for Social Services, $6.59 billion for the NYPD.

The administration has also trimmed its earlier projected budget shortfall while still pushing for state-level tax and financing changes to shore up the long-term outlook.