NEW YORK CITY—Mayor Bill de Blasio Thursday presented New York City's executive budget for fiscal year 2015. Among the focal points of the $74 billion budget are an education program that could benefit the real estate industry, the recently announced affordable housing plan, capital expenditures, safety measures, fines and Hurricane Sandy recovery.
The executive budget invests $20 million in FY 2015—growing to $50 million in later years—to expand programs to help thousands of CUNY community college students more quickly earn their degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. with additional tuition support, counseling, and even tutoring where needed. These initiatives will impact nearly 5,000 students in the first year of this
The affordable housing plan, unveiled earlier this week, includes $41 billion in capital investment over 10 years to build or preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing. This will create approximately 194,000 construction jobs and 7,100 permanent jobs.
The executive budget provides an additional $70 million in relief to NYCHA to address the backlog of repairs and enhance security. This is on top of the $52.5 million in relief outlined in the preliminary budget. On the safety side, Mayor de Blasio's executive budget allocates funds toward his interagency goal of eliminating the city's traffic fatalities.
Also, the city's budget for the coming year increases the city's road resurfacing investment by $49 million, to a total of $226 million to resurface 1,000 lane miles, while prioritizing investment in bridges by allocating an additional $346 million for maintenance.
The city continues its efforts to right-size the capital plan ahead of the ten year capital plan, to be released in January 2015. According to the Mayor's office debt service will remain under 15% of tax revenues, even with key capital investments such as the Mayor's new affordable housing plan.
Meanwhile, total fine revenues in the executive budget are projected to decline from $859 million in FY 2012 to $789 million in FY 2015-an 8 percent decrease. This includes a reduction of 44% in DOH fines and 21% in DCA fines from FY 2012 to FY 2015.
Lastly, the announced budget includes allocations for Hurricane Sandy recovery, including the overhaul of recovery programs. By investing in Build It Back—including expanded eligibility and additional staff, such as building inspectors—the administration will expedite relief, while engaging communities and creating local jobs.
Additionally, the administration will provide financial relief to Sandy victims through water bill, property tax, and building fee relief, as well as expanded rental assistance eligibility.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
