City Hall has called its belt-tightening budget a necessity, given the estimated $4.3 billion in costs imposed by the migrant situation, salary increases stemming from deals with municipal unions and new burdens that could be imposed by the state budget. The nonprofit Citizens Budget Commission has largely backed City Hall’s efforts, pointing to a $6.5 billion budget gap estimated to exist by fiscal 2027.

More than 40 people are positioned to help shape New York City’s transition to smaller class sizes, after the New York City Department of Education announced who will serve on the working group to weigh in on the new state law to gradually phase in stricter limits on New York City class sizes. That includes Citizens Budget Commission President Andrew Rein.

For most of the last decade, New York City added five new jobs for each new housing unit, according to a 2020 analysis by the Citizens Budget Commission.

Andrew Rein, president of government watchdog the Citizens Budget Commission, said contract negotiations will affect the MTA’s ability to adjust service to shifting commuting patterns.

The city is facing major budget deficits in the years ahead, including a $9.6 billion budget gap in 2025, according to the Citizens Budget Commission, an independent fiscal watchdog.

“While these raises are reasonable given economic conditions, the City missed the opportunity to identify productivity savings during collective bargaining to fund them,” said the Citizen Budget Commission’s Ana Champeny, who performed the analysis.

In New York City, the Citizens Budget Commission points out that “thirty percent of spending growth” on public education came from “one-time federal pandemic aid.”

Ana Champeny, vice president of research at the Citizens Budget Commission said, “There are no work rule changes. We haven’t seen any productivity changes to pay for part of the contract.”

In New York, a tax break known as 421-g was established in 1995 to help facilitate conversions in Lower Manhattan. That program, which did not require any affordable housing in exchange, generated nearly 13,000 new apartments at a cost of $1.2 billion, or $92,000 per unit, according to the Citizens Budget Commission.

A separate analysis by the Citizens Budget Commission, a financial watchdog group, estimates that the police union contract alone would add $700 million to the city’s deficit.

Its traffic is brutal; in a 2017 Citizens Budget Commission survey, residents rated traffic the lowest of 45 quality of life categories.

Citizens Budget Commission President Andrew Rein said there could be a silver lining to a tardy budget pact.