Newly elected council Speaker outlines plan to fund universal childcare, target no-bid contracts and build housing
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Summary
In a post-election Q&A, the newly elected council Speaker prioritized finding city budget savings—by cracking down on no-bid contracts and using the Health Care Accountability Office—to help fund universal childcare, and outlined a proactive affordable-housing push using library and DCAS sites.
The newly elected council Speaker (Speaker 1) told reporters the New York City Council will focus on finding savings in the city budget to help pay for universal childcare and other affordability priorities.
"We're gonna crack down on no bid contracts," Speaker 1 said, citing previous no-bid spending totals: "$4,000,000,000 in the Eric Adams administration, $7,000,000,000 during COVID in the de Blasio administration." Speaker 1 said eliminating such contracts and better using the Health Care Accountability Office could free up funds the council could contribute to programs such as universal childcare, and added the office "should save the city $2,000,000,000 if it's properly utilized."
The Speaker said the council will leave state-level revenue decisions to Albany but will press the city’s own budget levers. "What I want to do is for the city council to be a partner in enacting universal childcare," Speaker 1 said, adding the council will identify where it can contribute dollars and savings.
On housing, Speaker 1 said rent freezes depend on mayoral appointments to the rent guidelines board and therefore are not within the council’s direct control. Instead, the council will pursue a proactive affordable-housing agenda that includes building over some of the city’s 215 public library branches and exploring development of over 1,000 sites owned by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), including vacant land and underused buildings.
Speaker 1 also flagged transit priorities: they said buses should be faster and reiterated support for fare-reduction efforts, noting that making fares entirely free would raise funding questions for Albany. The M15 route, Speaker 1 said, has the highest ridership in their district.
The council leader said the body will combine oversight and partnership with the mayor where possible, and pursue legal tools available to the council to address predatory business conduct, including subpoenas when warranted. "We absolutely have the legal authority to do so, and it's something we're going to pursue," Speaker 1 said.
The Speaker closed by stressing oversight of the prior administration to restore agency functioning and address staffing vacancies that have affected service delivery.
