Mayor de Blasio: New York City will likely see more revenue losses without a stimulus
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio discusses why the state needs over $7 billion in the coronavirus stimulus package on ‘Sunday Morning Futures.’
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday warned that the city faces a multibillion-dollar deficit amid the coronavirus pandemic, while pleading for federal and state assistance.
New York City previously estimated $7.4 billion in lost revenue due to the coronavirus crisis, but on Wednesday, de Blasio warned that the city is projecting a shortfall of nearly $9 billion— possibly more—over the next two fiscal years.
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“We are now $9 billion in the hole between the current fiscal year and the one that begins July 1,” de Blasio said.
“We have lost billions upon billions of dollars of revenue that we use to serve our people,” de Blasio explained. “It’s gone. It’s not coming back.”
He added: “The only way to possibly keep this city functioning and keep the services provided, keep people on our payroll, is if we get a really substantial stimulus program from Washington.”
De Blasio noted that “we don’t know when that’s going to be right now. They have not scheduled to vote in the Senate. We don’t know what it’s going to look like. And meanwhile, we have a budget due on June 30 by law.”
“This week I asked the state of New York for help. I asked the state of New York to give us a fallback, give us a safety net,” de Blasio said. “It’s something we need as a last resort if our federal government isn’t there for us, if we’re going to maintain basic services here in the city.”
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De Blasio said any possible cuts made by the city would affect "all agencies.” It's unclear whether the city might consider tax measures as well.
“There is literally no way that we can solve this problem without federal help or without having to make very, very painful choices that will affect the quality of life in this city, our ability to provide basic services and how many people we’re able to employ to support you in the middle of a pandemic,” he added.
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De Blasio’s latest plea is the latest example of local and state governments warning about fiscal shortfalls as a result of coronavirus-related shutdowns and lockdowns.
Governors across the nation have also asked for federal aid, but it is unclear whether they will receive additional funds.
New York has been considered the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, reporting on Wednesday more than 199,000 positive cases of COVID-19 in New York City alone and more than 16,400 deaths.
While New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has given the green light for some regions of the state to open, New York City is not there yet. De Blasio, last week, predicted the city could begin its “Phase 1” by the middle of June.
Meanwhile, last week, de Blasio claimed that the city required $7.5 billion in federal aid to get back on track after being crippled by the coronavirus pandemic. He also claimed that the money would not be going to fix past financial errors, insisting that before the pandemic, the city was doing better than ever.
“You’ve seen what has happened in the city in recent years. Right before this pandemic, the highest level of employment in our history, booming economy, lowest crime since the 1950s, more and more kids graduating on time in our public schools than ever in our history, you name it, this city was moving forward.”
Fox News' Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.
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