Mayor de Blasio Unveils FY 2017 NYC Preliminary Budget

On Thursday, January 21, 2016, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled an $82.1 billion preliminary budget that includes raising wages, investments in safety, homelessness, mental health and schools.

FPWA issued the following statement in response to the Mayor’s preliminary budget:

“FPWA commends Mayor de Blasio for including in his preliminary budget a plan to raise the wages of 50,000 workers across New York City by funding a $15 per hour minimum wage for city workers, and city-contracted nonprofit workers. This pay increase demonstrates the Mayor’s commitment to reducing income inequality for many human services workers who provide vital services and programs to vulnerable New Yorkers.

While we commend the Mayor for increasing wages for thousands of city workers, we appreciate that there still are many service providers whose work merits a pay increase. Early childhood educators who provide quality early education in safe, community-based organizations under contract with the city continue to be paid significantly less by New York City for the same work performed by teachers in Department of Education classrooms. We urge the Mayor to invest in salary parity across the early childhood system.

In addition, we urge the Administration to fund much needed summer afterschool programs, ​which are vital to working families across the city, and to the Mayor’s goal of lifting 800,000 people out of poverty. Summer programs help address the summer learning gap experienced by low income students. They are a source of summer meals and a safe space for many New York City children during the out-of-school summer months. Summer programming must be a priority in any agenda seeking to promote equal opportunity.”