De Blasio Unveils $98.6B 'Recovery Budget' For 2022

NEW YORK CITY — A hefty dose of stimulus spending in next year's budget will help New York City move past the coronavirus pandemic once and for all, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

De Blasio on Monday outlined a $98.6 billion proposed executive budget for 2022 with massive investments on universal, free 3-K, education, mental health services and more.

He argued the spending will stimulate the city's economy — which experts predict will add 400,000 jobs this year — and ultimately increase revenue.

"This is a good news budget if there ever was one,” he said.

The generous spending stands in contrast to the pared-down, $88.1 billion 2021 budget passed last year amid swirling uncertainty over the coronavirus crisis.

City Council members and de Blasio crafted that budget without no end in the sight for the pandemic, a $9 billion loss in revenue and no guarantee of federal stimulus.

De Blasio's proposed 2022 budget builds off $5.9 billion in direct local aid and $7 billion in education funding from the recently passed federal stimulus, as well as $1.1 billion in state education funds.

The city will spend $500 million on academic recovery programs in 2022 and increase funding for information technology support, he said. He also expanded on a previous announcement that 3-K will be in every school district this year.

"Now we are announcing it will be fully universal by September 2023 — every single 3-year-old will have a seat for free in all of New York City by September 2023," he said.

Spending on 3-K will total $377 million, de Blasio said.

Hizzoner also proposed $112 million in mental health crisis response — a program that will send EMS and social worker teams, rather than NYPD officers, to address mental health needs.

The budget also proposes spending large amounts on the following efforts:

• $236 million on special education services
• $234 million on de Blasio’s 10,000-worker “City Cleanup Corps”
• $200 million on the “Summer Rising” summer school revamp
• $50 million on a new Public Health Corps
• $27 million on Cure Violence programs

De Blasio argued the spending will ultimately stimulate the city's economy enough to bring in more revenue. He said the city will continue hiring measures to avoid new spending and can put $4.59 billion into reserves.

"This is the recovery moment," he said.

But for all de Blasio's confident predictions, his proposed spending still could leave his successor with fewer options. He faced multiple questions from reporters on the issue and repeatedly claimed that the new spending is necessary for the city to recover from the pandemic.

"Again, sometimes you have to spend money to make money,” he said.