By Gus Saltonstall
Earlier this week, the New York City Council approved the $116 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
It was the first time since Mayor Eric Adams took office that the budget received unanimous approval from the Council. The new fiscal year began on July 1 and will run until June 30, 2026.
The 469-page document, dubbed “The Best Budget Ever” by the mayor’s office, includes a variety of different types of funding for several different aspects of the city, including parks, the arts, public safety, health, youth and senior programs, and much more.
Within all of that money, each councilmember gets funding specifically allotted to their district, including to the Upper West Side’s District 6, represented by Gale Brewer, and District 7, represented by Shaun Abreu.
West Side Rag looked through the new budget to check out the funding headed to organizations, community groups, and programs in our neighborhood.
Below are highlights of the funding secured by Brewer, whose district runs from around West 54th to 92nd streets.
To be clear, we did not include every item secured by Brewer, but you can look at the budget yourself — HERE.
In her announcement of the passing of the budget, Brewer also highlighted these larger pots of funding that will affect residents citywide.
- $10M pilot program that will provide free child care for NYC kids 0-2
- $2M for expanded seven-day library service to 10 branches citywide
- $92M in permanent funding for 3-K and Pre-K programs
- $36M in mental health care programs
- $3M in continued funding for smaller mental health clubhouses
- $104.5M in restored and baselined funding for older adults
- $50M increase in immigration legal services
- $4 billion in capital funding to support the creation and preservation of more affordable housing
Council District 6
Parks
- Broadway Mall Association for maintenance of the malls: $60,000
- West 87 Street Park and Garden for events and maintenance: $5,000
- Riverside Park Conservancy for park care and volunteer projects: $90,000
- West Side Community Garden to support free garden programming: $10,000
Brewer’s office also funded the following park capital improvements totaling $740K:
- Central Park Harlem Meer project
- Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre renovation
- Tree guards throughout District 6 (participatory budgeting)
- Riverside Park wall repair at West 72 Street (participatory budgeting)
- Broadway Malls improvements District 6 (participatory budgeting)
Cultural Institutions and Libraries
- Juilliard School Community Engagement performance series: $5,000
- Bloomingdale School of Music for student training: $5,000
- Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center for youth education: $5,000
- Symphony Space for cultural literacy and heritage programming: $5,000
- WP/Women’s Project Theater for Mainstage season programming: $10,000
- Film Society of Lincoln Center to support the film programs: $5,000
- The Center at West Park for the Inclusive Teen Concert: $10,000
- Drag Queen Story Hour for programs and readings throughout Council District 6: $5,000
- American Folk Art Museum: $5,000
- Holocaust Music Lost & Found: $5,000
- Naumburg Orchestral Concerts to support their free classical music concert series: $5,000
- Jazz at Lincoln Center: $5,000
Brewer’s office also funded cultural institutions in District 6 through capital allocations totaling 27.8 million.
- American Museum of Natural History
- Art Students League of New York
- Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center
- Jazz at Lincoln Center
- The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
- Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Metropolitan Opera
- New York City Center
- The American LGBTQ+ Museum at New York Historical
- Symphony Space
Public Safety
- Her Justice to support immigrant women living in poverty: $5,000
- Crime Victims Treatment Center for survivor and sexual violence prevention programing: $33,000
- Center for Anti-Violence Education to support empowerment self-defense programs: $5,000
- Fortune Society’s Domestic Violence Survivor Programming: $5,000
- Muslim Community Network for domestic violence awareness education: $5,000
Older Adults
- Jewish Community Center in Manhattan for bereavement programs: $5,000
- Medicare Rights Center for education and enrollment programing: $5,000
- Goddard Riverside Community Center – creating opportunities for youth programs in Amsterdam Houses: $100,000
- Goddard Riverside Community Center for programming for older adults: $20,000
- DOROT to provide programming and services to alleviate isolation of vulnerable older adults: $5,000
- National Council of Jewish Women for the Lifetime Learning Program: $10,000
- Older Adults Technology Services for technology trainings: $20,000
Anti-Poverty
- American Museum of Natural History to bring science programming to NYCHA families: $5,000
- Ballet Hispánico free ticket program: $10,000
- Riverside Language Program for adult literacy training: $5,000
Human Services
- Congregation B’nai Jeshurun for food program: $5,000
- West Side Campaign Against Hunger/West Side Center for Community Life to support food access: $13,500
- Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew United Methodist for their Miracle Mondays Weekly Resource Fair: $10,000
- Metropolitan New York Coordinating Council on Jewish Poverty for Intimate Partner and Family Abuse Services, and the Social Services Program: $5,000
- New York Immigration Coalition for healthcare access for victims of domestic violence: $5,000
- West End Residences Housing Development Fund Company for their housing and services for homeless older adults: $5,000
Community Planning Advocacy
- Landmark West! for “They Were Here” and “Keeping the Past for the Future” programming: $25,000
- Wild Bird Fund for rehabilitation of wildlife: $5,000
- Manhattan Community Board #7 for technology, staffing and training: $6,000
- Columbus Avenue BID for seasonal and Open Streets programming: $7,500
- Lincoln Square BID for seasonal programming: $7,500
For funding connected to schools — amounts were not itemized exactly — but here are the Upper West Side schools receiving some sort of funding in the upcoming fiscal budget.
Education
- PS 75 after school program sponsored by the PTA
- Young People’s Chorus to support in and after school music education
- Middle School 245 funds for artist residency programming
- Middle School 191 to support science programming
- PS 452 funds to support chess programming
- PS 166 funds to support chess programming
- PS 84 funds to support interdisciplinary food production programming
- Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center/Lucy Moses School for Music and Dance to support music program at the Special Music School
- Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York for music education at PS 199
- Research Foundation of the City University of New York to support drama-based interactive educational workshops at MLK Campus
- Catholic Charities Community Services College Readiness Program for Innovation Diploma Plus at Brandeis HS campus
- Special Olympics New York to support the school training club site at Mickey Mantle School PS M811
- Stephen Gaynor School for their phonics professional development program at PS 87
- Funds to support CUNY scholarships to NYCHA resident
Brewer’s office also funded schools in District 6 through capital allocations totaling 2.94 million.
- Anderson School
- Emily Dickinson
- Frank McCourt High School
- Global Learning Collective
- High School for Environmental Studies
- High School for Law, Advocacy, & Community Justice
- High School of Arts & Technology
- Lillian Weber School of Arts
- P.S. 452
- P.S. 9 School
- The Richard Rodgers School of the Arts and Technology
- West End Secondary
Next week, the Rag will publish an article highlighting the money secured in the budget by Councilmember Abreu.
You can check out the full 469-page budget for yourself — HERE.
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No money for West Park Church repair?
Good? No sense in throwing good money into a building that should be torn down as soon as possible
This is getting weird, I again agree with UWS Dad.
I note there is an allocation of $10k to the Center at West Park for the Inclusive Teen Concert. To where has the Center at West Park decamped? I walked by this afternoon and the church was locked up tight and the advertising sandwich boards that used to be outside were gone. Also its webpage has only one item on it for the month of July.
What do you think the next budget will look like if NYC elects a Communist?
Comrade Mamdani will increase the chocolate ration to 20 grams.
Only yesterday we saw that Carlos apparently believes the city subsidizes the Macy’s fireworks show; now we find OPOD seemingly unaware there are no Communists running for mayor here.
As Friedrich Schiller famously remarked….
A more pertinent question would be what all our budgets, and our lives, will look like now that the House has passed the Bloated, Barbaric BS bill.
The Great Big Beautiful Law, will lMake America Great Again.
Unless it was a different Carlos who posts here (which is possible), I said nothing of the sort.
I do however think that the city’s finances will be an absolute disaster under Mamdani, who has a gigantic wish list and no way to pay for it. Guess what – tax the rich is not a viable answer.
And I also think Trump’s budget is a nightmare.
See – contrary to the incorrect opinions of so many on the super woke left, there are many of us who are strongly anti-Trump Democrats who also dislike Mamdani – disliking Mamdani does not make one MAGA. So please stop insulting us and calling us that.
Many of us also do not think Cuomo is a decent human being. The world is not binary – it has a lot of nuance to it. So stop generalizing about people. It is almost as divisive as Trump’s behavior.
Whether it was you or another Carlos I obviously couldn’t say, but the comment read: “Fireworks would come at the expense of rent freezes and free buses. I thank Mamdani’s head would explode. There’s this whole ‘balanced budget’ concept that he and all of his supporters seem to not understand.” The first sentence suggests, at least to me, its author believes the city pays for the Macy’s fireworks shows, which is certainly not the case. If you — the present Carlos — didn’t write or didn’t mean that, I do apologize for any misunderstanding.
I myself regard many of Mamdani’s proposals as infeasible — and, in so viewing them, harbor no fears that he’ll somehow wreck the city’s finances. What cannot be done cannot be done, end of story. I trust Mamdani will adapt to fiscal reality and come up with other innovative yet doable ideas, and probably turn out to be a rather decent mayor. I dislike the wish list, not the man.
If it quacks like a Duck.
… it might be a recording of a duck, or a goose, or a swan, or a well-practiced parrot, or maybe Dr. Oz.
Now, what if it does NOT quack like a duck? What candidate(s) do you allege sound like a Communist, and what have you ever written here that persuades us you even know what a Communist is?
Talk about BS…I’d say that is an apt description of your comment.
Thanks for the veritable cornucopia of facts! I’ll return the favor (only in my case with actual facts) in my reply to D M momentarily, but for now … shall we take it you share OPOD’s belief there’s a Communist running for NYC major? Name?
Speaking of “Bloated, Barbaric BS bill” – that’s what my parents received yesterday from Social Security Administration:
“ The Social Security Administration (SSA) is celebrating the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill, a landmark piece of legislation that delivers long-awaited tax relief to millions of older Americans.
The bill ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits, providing meaningful and immediate relief to seniors who have spent a lifetime contributing to our nation’s economy.”
Wonder if this email is a Hatch Act violation?
Yeah, I received one of those emails today, too, and promptly marked it as Spam. (Would that it had come in an envelope and I could use my RETURN TO SENDER stamp on it.) Conveniently, your quoted passages therefrom perfectly illustrate the BS I mentioned. But before you, your parents, Flo, S G, or anyone else here averse to fine print herniates in celebration of this blessed miracle, there are a few things you ought to consider:
1. King Don promised to eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits; indeed, he said his BBB does so. He lied. (What, and you believed him?!?)
2. The $6,000 (maximum) tax break is TEMPORARY, effective only for tax years 2025–28. Afterward, brace yourselves.
3. It won’t help the lowest-earning SS beneficiaries as they already pay no federal income taxes, and the highest-earning tier makes too much to qualify for it. In all, ~50% of Americans aged 65+ will see no benefit from this. (This is targeted specifically toward the upper-middle class, among whom the All-Father evidently enjoys the highest percentage of easy marks.) It also won’t help recipients who get disability or survivor benefits before turning 65 or claim their benefits early.
4. Eliminating taxes on benefits will harm the solvency of the Social Security Trust Funds, depleting reserves faster than had been estimated. They HAD been expected, barring intervention, to run out by 2034. But hey, you don’t really think you’ll still be around then, do you? Eat, drink, and be merry — while you can afford to.
5. Meanwhile, good luck buying food and stuff!
As always, references are available upon request
I received the same thing! I’m not even over 65 yet, but I’m glad that our seniors are finally free of federal tax.
Here’s the excerpt from this SSA letter:
“This is a historic step forward for America’s seniors,” said Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano. “For nearly 90 years, Social Security has been a cornerstone of economic security for older Americans. By significantly reducing the tax burden on benefits, this legislation reaffirms President Trump’s promise to protect Social Security and helps ensure that seniors can better enjoy the retirement they’ve earned.”
All the SS recipients I know seem to have received that. The fawning tone sounds like something prepared by the Trump press office.
That’s exactly what it is. Trump appointed the new chair of the SSA and slavering praise of the orange man is the price you pay to work in the Trump administration
The Big Beautiful Law does many things, One of the best things it does is kick able body people who don’t work off the Government Teat. No work no food stamps and no free healthcare if you are able bodied. A lot of jobs are coming to this country and lazy people need a little kick in the pants.
You’d like to think so, wouldn’t you?
https://theconversation.com/employers-are-failing-to-insure-the-working-class-medicaid-cuts-will-leave-them-even-more-vulnerable-259256
… and then there’s the reality:
https://theconversation.com/employers-are-failing-to-insure-the-working-class-medicaid-cuts-will-leave-them-even-more-vulnerable-259256
Get real, no one is sitting around not working because they get Medicaid. Prime age (25-54) unemployment is near an all time low at ~3% and has been since 2022
Then Please answer why there is a Labor shortage after Covid?
What are you trying to say? It is BAD news simply because it is coming from this administration? No matter to you that millions of seniors are getting a tax break; what is much more significant to you is the fact that it comes from Trump administration and you can’t have that. Better have these seniors taxed to death while you are playing a “freedom fighter” while living comfortably on UWS.
Champagne liberalism at its best.
Reality rears its ugly head:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/05/social-security-administration-email-trump-tax-bill
That’s one of the least objectionable parts of the bill which overall is a hot mess.
But my comment was less about the contents and more about that its bad that official government accounts are sending partisan propaganda emails.
President Trump is a master showman
A rare note of MAGA candor!
The “showman” is excessively euphemistic, though.
Fawning or not it is still great news. Let’s be objective and not trash everything that comes from this administration. Some things are good and this one definitely is.
I will go so far as to say it’s probably not the least-good development since Big Daddy’s reign of terror began. Beyond that, see above.
Don’t worry President Trump will Make America Great Again for you too, even if you don’t appreciate it.
Or in other words, “Shut up, lie back, and enjoy it.”
— Once the moderator gets around to approving it, that is. Until then, I shall inadvertently keep you in suspense.
Comment having been posted, I look forward to your feedback, D M.
Read the bill. Only some seniors are getting a tax break and only until 2028.
90 percent is not “some”. I will take 3 years till 2028.
What exactly you are unhappy about?
Um, did any of you read the actual section of the bill on taxation of these benefits? It’s not the get-out-of-jail-free card you might think it is. Then again, I’d bet fewer than a dozen members of Congress read it either.
I am old enough to have received that same email. GREAT news.
Why are we giving the Boomer generation yet another subsidy?
It’s pleasant to imagine that a few decades from now, snot-nosed brats will be asking essentially the same question about your doddering generation. Except that it probably won’t happen, as the Antipresident will have wrecked the nation beyond hope of repair.
No discussion on how the city budget grew almost 4x the inflation rate? His the city budget has grown faster than inflation for well over a decade?
Our city budget is the size of the budget of the whole state of Florida. It’s not sustainable and makes it hard to celebrate this winding list of stuff.
It is scary. And that before free buses and city run groceries.
I don’t want to pay thousands more in taxes on my tiny apartment to get a free bus ride.
Can we pave a street? Little RSD hasn’t been paved in 25 years. Between 97th and 105th looks the surface of the moon.
No info on District 7?
not surprising!
Second to last line in the article: “Next week, the Rag will publish an article highlighting the money secured in the budget by Councilmember Abreu.”
Sorry, but $5,000 for Drag Queen Story Hours? What “cultural institution” does that serve? What benefit does that provide to the public?
How many meals for the hungry or homeless could that have bought???
I despise Trump. And I strongly support the right of people to live their lives however they wish. But “drag queen story hour” is basically just asking to get him re-elected. Is this really necessary? I don’t think little kids need to be read to by drag queens. I think kids should be taught to accept all people for who they are and understand differences. But this is extreme. I rarely agree with MAGA but I do agree that having drag queens read to elementary school kids is a bridge too far.
I’m sure Fox News is all over this and showing how nuts those of us in blue states are.
And I am sure I will now incur the wrath of half the UWS for saying. And I will be called a Trumper (again – I’m not – but you all can generalize as much as you want and further prove my point).
Or the $39 million on mental health services, and $50 million INCREASE on immigration legal services.
I’d bet that there isn’t a single person in the entire administration who has run an ROIC to society/taxpayers on this spending – or is even capable of doing it. But I’m sure it provides a nice piece of pork and generous lifetime employment opportunities for an over-bloated staff.
Meanwhile, hundreds of mentally ill people are still soiling themselves on public transportation and rotting in the streets. “Progressive” humanism.
Most drag queens I’ve met over the years would be gracious enough to provide their performances gratis. Where does that $ go, anyway?
Glitter.
Thank you for the great and informative summary, Gus. As well as the link. I pretty much agree with all of them.
Those celebrating the SS tax cut are ill informed about its true intentions. The SS Fund is kept solvent via deductions from wages that are paid into the Fund and tax revenue contributed to it by SS beneficiaries. If 90% of beneficiaries won’t be contributing via their taxes that means the SS Fund will be depleted on a more rapid basis than previously anticipated, which is what Trump wanted.
90 percent of seniors who no longer have wages. They have already paid their share of taxes.
90 percent of seniors who no longer have wages. They have already paid their share of taxes.
Seniors paying their fair shar is a joke. Sorry to seniors but they paid a small share to the greatest generation who were a fraction their size. And then expect millennials to pay for the current 10x larger generation of current seniors who paid the share they are getting.
There is 100% qgreement overall what seniors have paid adjusted for grownth and inflation…they are getting 3-4x what they paid in. And that’s not even including Medicare.
You’re so off base about this. As a senior I could explain the reality of this situation but I don’t have that many hours to devote to you. Please educate yourself.
I can’t believe this post. You are bashing of one most hard-working and ethical generation of all times. They paid what they had to pay back in their time. If cost of living rose it is not their fault, but the fault of those who took over later. So yes, they are responsible.
I’m sure you are the one waving flags to give money to illegals, Ukraine, any political flavor of the day, but not your own people who gave you good life. Shame.
Need to help fund Columbia University research.
NYC taxpayers should PAY Columbia????
$50M ADDITIONAL for immigrant legal services? And all those paltry $5K handouts around the neighborhood. With all the needs here in UWS? THAT’s where my taxes go? Spend $50M on making sidewalks safe again.