New York City Budget Deal Clears Deadline, Skips NYPD Headcount Increase

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin reached a last-minute handshake on NYC’s nearly $126 billion budget for the 2027 fiscal year, preserving current NYPD staffing levels while adding a new $175 million housing-voucher expansion run by the HPD to aid eviction-affected residents and shelter clients not covered by existing programs. The pact includes dropping a lawsuit related to previously approved reforms, moves spending toward education and social services, and was reached just before the July 1 deadline amid protests over police staffing, tax- and revenue-based funding debates, and calls to close a multibillion-dollar budget gap.