{"id":65447,"date":"2025-07-14T17:41:06","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T17:41:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/65447\/"},"modified":"2025-07-14T17:41:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T17:41:06","slug":"council-members-celebrate-adoption-of-trump-proof-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/65447\/","title":{"rendered":"Council Members celebrate adoption of ‘Trump Proof’ budget"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was a big celebration after the New York City Council passed its $115.9 billion Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget <\/a>on June 30th, making it what Mayor Eric Adams called the \u201cbest budget ever\u201d.<\/p>\n

The budget mainly focused on early childhood education \u2013\u00a0 especially when it came to 2-K and 3-K programs \u2013 libraries and cultural institutions; immigration legal services and services for older adults.<\/p>\n

Council members proudly spoke about the budget\u2019s passing, with Speaker Adrienne Adams saying it will take \u201ccritical steps forward to invest in the needs of New Yorkers and our city\u2019s neighborhoods\u201d. Council Member Justin Brannan, chair of the Committee on Finance, added the budget was \u201cTrump-proof,\u201d referring to the budget cuts President Donald Trump sought with his \u201cBig Beautiful Bill\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBuilding a city that actually works for working people can only happen when false austerity and budget brinkmanship are cast aside,\u201d said Brannan. \u201cToday the City Council is proving you can Trump-proof a budget while still doubling down on what matters most. We are proud to pass a balanced, on-time budget that sets aside $8.5 billion in reserves and while still investing in what New Yorkers need at this critical time.\u201d<\/p>\n

While many in the city applauded the budget, there were some who were disappointed in it. This was particularly so for the nonprofit organizations that provide food items for food banks and pantries across the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On June 18th, multiple organizations, including City Harvest, <\/strong>Food Bank For New York City, and United Way of New York City, held a rally at City Hall, <\/a>calling for $100 million to be budgeted for the Community Food Connection Program. Increasing food security, the end of COVID-era support, and cuts to the FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter program were among the reasons these organizations called for the sum.<\/p>\n

Instead, only half of that amount was given to the Community Food Connection Program.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very unfortunate,\u201d said Leslie Gordon, CEO of Food Bank For NYC<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s imperative for the city to meet the need. These are real people\u2019s lives. They have no breakfast, no lunch, not sure if there will be lunch. They\u2019re tired and hangry. It\u2019s hard to function. It\u2019s like building a house with no foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abdullah Younusis, vice president of Advocacy and Government Relations for United Way of New York City<\/a> said that while he was pleased child care was a big focus of the budget, he also was disappointed. \u201cWe were really fighting for $100 million to be invested,\u201d he said. \u201cWe know what the needs are, we know what New Yorkers are going to need and are increasingly feeling right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

One critic of the budget was Andrew Rein, the president of Citizens Budget Commission<\/a>, who sees the budget as spending all now while there is time, instead of putting more funds aside for the coming years that will be harder, especially when the Big Beautiful Bill\u2019s cuts take place.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo way can this budget Trump-proof the city,\u201d Rein said. \u201cThere will be challenges in the long run that will create huge budget holes, especially with federal cuts. [Budget] choices will then get much tougher. You can\u2019t do everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Big Beautiful Bill passed on July 3rd and now adds to the pressure of feeding New Yorkers. According to the Fiscal Policy Institute,<\/a> SNAP benefits will be cut nationwide by an estimated $35 billion over the next decade<\/a>. State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli <\/a>even said the federal bill would worsen food insecurity throughout the state.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gordon said Food Bank for NYC needs $4 million a month to fund the 700 food pantries it provides. But that amount is expected to rise. Going forward, she said, the nonprofit will continue to work and partner with the city and even the private sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing changes for us,\u201d Gordon said. \u201cWe\u2019re in it to win it. We\u2019re made for this. We went through [Superstorm] Sandy and COVID.\u201d<\/p>\n

Younus agreed that difficult times in the past meant that United Way is strong enough to face the coming challenges ahead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been in perpetual crisis over the last decade,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s always another fight. I believe we\u2019ll get through this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even so, the looming food security crisis is presenting a daunting time for the two food bank providers, and likely other nonprofits.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, we want universal child care,\u201d Younous said. \u201cThe best schooling possible, healthcare should be accessible to everyone, and all of these things need to happen. But they are almost abstract to a hungry stomach, how it\u2019s been abandoned. To me, food is, in many ways, the fundamental promise of government.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There was a big celebration after the New York City Council passed its $115.9 billion Fiscal Year 2025-2026…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":65448,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,405,403,5226,5225,15418,5228,5227,46521,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-65447","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-newyork","12":"tag-newyorkcity","13":"tag-nonprofits","14":"tag-ny","15":"tag-nyc","16":"tag-nyn-media","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65447\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}