Mayor Adams’ workplace declined to ship anybody to testify at a Metropolis Council listening to Wednesday that had been referred to as to assessment his plans for coping with the President Trump’s federal funding cuts, drawing outrage from members of the chamber who argued the no-show alerts Adams isn’t taking the specter of Trump severely.
Since January, Trump has clawed again tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in migrant disaster funding from town, cancelled tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} extra in federal well being grants and threatened to terminate as a lot as $10 billion in numerous different types of federal help to town for every little thing from early childhood teaching programs to public housing subsidies.
Wednesday’s listening to, held by the Council’s Finance and Governmental Operations Committees, was referred to as to dig into what Adams’ administration is doing to organize for Trump cuts, that are disrupting on a regular basis lives of New Yorkers in numerous methods.
However simply earlier than the listening to began, Finance Committee Chairman Justin Brannan and Authorities Ops Committee Chairman Lincoln Restler informed reporters First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro referred to as the Council the evening earlier than to inform them nobody from Adams’ administration would seem.
“We’re not looking to have a gotcha moment … Federal cuts are coming, they’re already here, what’s your plan to stave off, to fight back on those cuts. We’d like to hear the plan and them not showing up means they got no plan,” Brannan mentioned at Metropolis Corridor.
Mamelak additionally famous Adams’ administration has sued Trump’s administration over some funding reductions, together with the $80 million in migrant disaster help Elon Musk’s Division of Authorities Effectivity seized from town in February.
“Our written testimony provides extensive detail on all that work. Any councilmember claiming otherwise is exposing this hearing for what it truly was: a political stunt, not a genuine effort to solve problems,” Mamelak mentioned. “For the Adams administration, we are focused on the people of this city — not petty politics; it’s unfortunate the same can’t be said for certain members of the Council.”
Authorities Ops Committee Chairman Lincoln Restler and Finance Committee Chairman Justin Brannan. (New York Day by day Information)
Restler referred to as the administration’s absence “profoundly disturbing,”
“The fact that they are failing to even come and share the most basic information about how we’re preparing for a tsunami of cuts that’s already underway and only getting worse…is grim,” he mentioned.
The no-show comes as Adams faces accusations that he’s beholden to Trump’s agenda after his Justice Division’s controversial dismissal of the mayor’s federal corruption indictment. The dismissal solely got here after Trump’s officers made clear to Adams they anticipated him to play a bigger position in serving to Trump goal undocumented New Yorkers for “mass deportations,” and the mayor has since averted publicly criticizing the president. The mayor has denied any quid professional quo.
“Even with Eric’s case going away, it’s clear that they’re still carrying [Trump’s] water,” Brannan fumed.
Restler mentioned the Council requested the administration weeks in the past to testify at Wednesday’s listening to. Particularly, he mentioned he requested that officers from the mayor’s workplace, his price range crew and eight metropolis companies seem.
On the listening to, consultants on the Residents Price range Fee and different teams testified of the dire penalties town can face if Trump’s administration makes good on extra funding lower threats. Maybe essentially the most critical risk is Trump’s vow to chop all federal funding from sanctuary cities like New York, a transfer that might blow a $10 billion gap within the metropolis’s price range and end in devastating service reductions, particularly for low-income residents.
Together with Wednesday’s listening to, Restler, Brannan and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who’s working for mayor this yr, additionally launched a listing of “targeted” investments they are saying town ought to make to hedge in opposition to Trump cuts.
That included a proposal to offer town Well being Division a brand new $8 million infusion to rework 80 current neighborhood clinics into vaccination hubs amid Trump’s cuts to the Facilities for Illness Management and Meals and Drug Administration. The record additionally proposes spending $2 million on hiring 25 new NYPD counterterrorism officers as Trump has slashed the ranks of the native FBI subject workplace.
At the same time as Adams avoids criticizing Trump, Restler mentioned he has spoken privately to officers in Adams’ administration who’re deeply involved about Trump’s lower.
“They’re afraid to offend the mayor by criticizing Donald Trump and his administration,” Restler mentioned. “It’s a bizarre scenario, we’re fully through the looking glass.”
