For the first time in at least a decade, the mayor has proposed reducing the size of the budget from the current year’s adjusted spending plan — by roughly $5 billion, according to an analysis by the Citizens Budget Commission.

This year’s budget retains the $1.8 billion that was in last fiscal year’s general and capital stabilization reserves, a move that was praised by the Citizens Budget Commission even as it called for another $1 billion to be added.

"Fortunately, Governor Hochul highlighted the need to stem outmigration," said Andrew Rein, the president of the Citizens Budget Commission.

From 2010 to 2018, the number of new jobs in New York City rose by 22%, while the number of housing units increased by 4% – meaning there was one new apartment created for every five new jobs–according to a 2020 analysis by the Citizens Budget Commission.

Oh, and as Citizens’ Budget Commission chief Andrew Rein noted, “The State of the State presented an expansive menu [of new spending]. We now await the Executive Budget to see the bill.” Where will she find the revenue?

Adams previously proposed a plan to add 500,000 new homes in the city in the next ten years, and Governor Kathy Hochul also introduced a proposal to add 800,000 new homes in the next ten years; according to the non-partisan, non-profit organization Citizens Budget Committee (Citizens Budget Commission) reported that a previous office-to-residential project called 421-g helped lower Manhattan add 13 million square feet of residential space.

When the state created 421g nearly 30 years ago, “the potential success of residential conversions was unknown and the incentive helped people take that risk,” said CBC researcher Ana Champeny. “It was proof of concept that you could do an office-to-residential conversion.”

In a preview today, Citizens Budget Commission says that economic uncertainty should drive New York to address structural imbalances in the budget now. More transparency and accountability measures would be nice, too, they add.

Officials would implement these reforms by changing city regulations and state laws. A prior office-to-residential tax incentive called 421-g helped spark the conversion of about 13 million square feet of office space in Lower Manhattan, according to a report from the Citizens Budget Commission.

“The task force’s much-needed look at the laws, regulations, and — importantly — the internal processes that slow down capital project delivery is welcome,” said Andrew Rein, president, Citizens Budget Commission.

Andrew Rein, head of the Citizens Budget Commission, lauded Adams’ administration for taking some “good first steps” when it comes to the city’s fiscal health, but noted ominously that “there still has not been a substantive run at restructuring government to be more efficient.”

"The good news in this budget is that the MTA has increased its efforts to find efficiencies, so that's now a larger portion of the plan. The challenge is that efficiency portion of the plan should be much, much bigger. It can be bigger and it should be bigger," he said.