Adams trashes cuts to NYC park litter baskets in another surprise rollback of budget slashes

Mayor Eric Adams trashed the planned removal of thousands of litter baskets across the city Thursday as his administration continued to roll back budget slashes announced two months ago. The Department of Sanitation will no longer need to dump nearly 40% of trash cans come July, reversing a budget cut that was projected to save the city about $25 million next fiscal year.

“I’m happy to announce that we will be able to restore funding for DSNY’s litter basket service,” Adams said Thursday from City Hall. “We will be able to maintain 23,000 litter baskets around our city and continue to install the litter basket of the future,” he added. “As a result of these restorations, New Yorkers will continue to see fewer rats.” The sparing of 9,000 litter bins came just the day after Adams reversed planned cuts to the NYPD and FDNY based on an overestimation of how much in saving was needed to cover the migrant crisis.

In addition, the mayor restored an employment initiative through the Park Department, dubbed the Parks Opportunity Program, on Thursday. The surprise budget restorations were among the line items nixed during November’s first round of 5% cuts to balance the city’s books over the billions of dollars being spent on housing tens of thousands of asylum seekers.

As part of the first of three 5% rounds of belt tightening, the city also slashed shelter costs by a fifth, lowering the cost projection for the migrant crisis from $12 billion to $10 billion through fiscal year 2025. More rollbacks of the budget cuts are expected to be revealed in the coming days — though it remains unclear what other programs or initiatives will be revived.

Officials have refused to detail how much money city coffers have in excess from the cuts or could reallocate, with Adams saying all will be revealed during budget talks next week. “On Tuesday, we’re going to show what the future holds,” Adams told reporters when pressed again on Thursday. The Adams administration is set to slash the budget again in the coming days, with cuts expected to affect nearly every city agency.

The City Council has skewered City Hall’s handling of the budget gap, saying its projections were much too conservative, leading to “overly broad cuts.” “This latest move to restore litter basket services and the Parks Opportunity Program only reinforces the fact that these and many other mid year cuts were unnecessary,” Speaker Adrienne Adams and Finance Chair Justin Brannan said Thursday in a joint statement.

“The Council will continue to push the Administration to accurately budget, restore its most harmful cuts, and take a different approach that prioritizes vital services for New Yorkers.” Adams dismissed the criticism, saying, “What you’re seeing is fiscal intelligence.” “We are making these tough decisions to tough times,” he added..