WASHINGTON –President Trump’s budget would wallop New York City with nearly $3 billion in cuts to transportation, homeland security, education and other services, according to new analysis.
Among 14 popular programs, federal funding to the city would drop from $3.7 billion to about $750,000 million, says the report released by Rep. Nydia M. Velazquez (D-Brooklyn).
“For someone who calls himself a New Yorker, President Trump’s budget is an insult to our city,” Velázquez said.
The biggest proposed cut would be $2.2 billion to Capital Investment Grants that could put major transportation projects in jeopardy — the Canarsie Line power station for the L train, the second phase of the 2nd Avenue Subway and the Woodhaven Boulevard Select Bus Service, the report found.
Other cuts include $139 million for the Urban Area Security Initiative that funds NYPD’s counterterrorism initiatives; $213 million to the Housing Authority; $151 million for Community Development Block Grants that are used for projects like keeping open emergency shelters and a $14.5 million loss to the National Endowment of the Arts that funds dance productions in Harlem, Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Red Hook Fest.
The report relies on 2016 budget figures from the city for major initiatives. It takes the percent decrease for each program under Trump’s federal budget and assumes the city’s funding would be reduced by the same percentage.
The report focuses on 14 individual programs, which do not represent all sources of federal funds for New York City.
An official in Trump’s Office of Management Budget said New York City would actually benefit greatly from the president’s plan because of the overall economic growth he intends to deliver.
“New York City, like the rest of America, is receiving a boost through consumer confidence and lifting of the regulatory burden by this Administration,” the official said. “Rep. Velazquez is entitled to her own opinion, but not her own facts. New York City and its residents will not only benefit from a strong economy and 3 percent growth – the goal of our economic policy – it will leave its government coffers flush and lift all citizens to a brighter future.”