NYC leaders reach budget deal as debate over police funding continues
Some in the city’s law enforcement community criticized the plan, saying they wanted to see additional funding included for the NYPD.
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A newly announced budget agreement between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin is drawing praise from supporters while also facing criticism from some in law enforcement over police funding in the final deal.
The agreement comes just ahead of the July 1 deadline to pass a city budget.
After months of negotiations over a $12 billion budget gap, Mamdani and Menin reached a deal on a fiscal year 2027 balanced budget.
“This is only the first budget of our administration. Many more will follow, and every budget that follows will build on the principles established here: honest budgeting, fiscal discipline, a transparent government,” Mamdani said.
Some in the city’s law enforcement community criticized the plan, saying they wanted to see additional funding included for the NYPD.
“It pretty much made every single New Yorker a lot less safe,” said Vincent Vallelong, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association.
During his May executive proposal, Mamdani had previously proposed adding 580 new officers to the department at an estimated cost of at least $70 million.
Mamdani said during the campaign he would keep the department’s headcount flat. In his May executive proposal, he said additional staffing was explored alongside agency savings.
“I've been talking to all agency heads about ways to find savings. And Commissioner [Jessica] Tisch and I were able to identify ways to keep the NYPD head count at the originally authorized 35,000, while also meeting all of our crime-fighting needs,” Mamdani said.
Vallelong responded to arguments that a balanced budget limits the ability to increase funding across agencies.
“You could talk about housing and more affordable housing that's needed across the city, but you also need to keep the people of this city safe. We had 81 people that filed for retirement. So in reality, we lost 66 supervisors across the city. And you're going to tell me this hiring freeze is not going to damage public safety going forward. It absolutely is,” he said.
Back in October 2025, then-Mayor Eric Adams announced plans to invest nearly $18 billion into the NYPD, including a plan to add 5,000 officers by 2029, bringing the force to 40,000 members. That expansion was set to begin in July 2026.
The city reached out to the mayor’s office for clarification on the status of that plan, but had not received a response as of Tuesday night.
The final adopted budget takes effect on Wednesday.
