A week before the city budget deadline, Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn shook hands on a $63 billion budget plan. The mayor couldn't help but compare city officials to those in Albany.
"We've faced up to our responsibilities and to financial realities, which means making some difficult and painful budget cuts," said Bloomberg.
The City Hall deal spares 20 fire companies, city pools, and funding for child abus investigators. But there will still be a billion dollars in new cuts and some will be hard to swallow.
Dozens of senior centers will close, though some were spared. Libraries will be open five days a week instead of six.
Some good news: no new taxes. At least not on the city level. State lawmakers are still debating new taxes and fees with their budget now 12 weeks late.
"Lately, many people have had questions about the ability of government to work together at all," said Mayor Bloomberg. "The new city budget takes effect on July 1st. But because the state budget is unrevolved, some of the city's plan is based on assumptions, and might have to be adjusted.
