Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
AGENCY TESTIMONY
Federal funding threats and city's response
4:00:21
ยท
57 sec
Comptroller Lander discusses recent and potential future federal funding threats to New York City, criticizing the mayor's lack of preparedness and detailing his office's efforts to address these challenges.
- Lander highlights a recent incident where $80 million was seized from the city's bank account, requiring intervention from the Comptroller's office.
- He emphasizes the need for proactive and strategic preparation for potential severe federal funding cuts to New York.
- The Comptroller criticizes Mayor Adams for failing to adequately prepare the city for these federal funding threats.
Brad Lander
4:00:21
When Elon Musk took that 80,000,000 last month, the mayor was nowhere to be found and it fell to our office to raise the alarm bell and pressure the law department into court.
4:00:30
As the Daily News reported last week, OMB staff were anxious and even refused to sign the affidavit, fearful the mayor would not have their back.
4:00:40
Thankfully, the law department filed strong papers, and we actually just got word that the judge did not grant the temporary restraining order because the money will be in the Fed's bank account and assigned arguments for next week.
4:00:55
And I'm optimistic we'll get that $80,000,000 back, but that, of course, is just the beginning of federal funding cuts to New York that are likely to be severe and we must act more proactively and strategically to prepare for them.
4:01:09
To help protect New Yorkers from those effects, I'm proposing that the city add $1,000,000,000 to the general reserve fund for FY '26.