NYC budget pact expands rental vouchers while freezing police hires

Mayor Mamdani and the City Council clinched a $126 billion budget deal that expands rental assistance via a new CityFHEPS-administered program with $175 million planned next year and $125 million the following year (the rental program could cost about $2 billion next year). The deal also cancels a planned 580-officer expansion, keeping NYPD headcount at 35,000, and expands the Fair Fares program to 200% of the federal poverty level (roughly 340,000 more New Yorkers eligible, 1.3 million total) without a universal free-fares plan. Additional measures include sheltering vulnerable residents, settling a housing-vouchers lawsuit, and relying on state aid and pension deferrals to close the city’s deficit.