Mayor's Budget Would Shrink Capital Plan by 30 Percent

Just as Washington is planning an infusion of spending on construction and infrastructure, Mayor Bloomberg has proposed a substantial cutback that would shrink the city’s five-year capital plan by more than $6 billion, or 30 percent.

What’s in the capital plan? Money goes to roads, police stations, economic development projects (such as revitalization of Coney Island and the development of Atlantic Yards). These cuts to the plan come on top of what equated to a 20 percent reduction enacted last year, which spread out the four-year plan into five years.

Mr. Bloomberg has been a mayor who apparently loves capital spending, and for the past two years, the city has allocated record amounts to capital projects. New below market rate housing, new parks, improved infrastructure—all have been strongly emphasized in the Bloomberg administration’s early years, but all have come at a cost, bringing up the city’s debt burden as almost all the money was borrowed (this is a common practice for capital projects).  read more »

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