The Big Apple’s social services budget has exploded 50% since the pandemic, even as the rest of New York repeatedly cut those costs, the state’s budget bigwig said Wednesday.
State budget director Blake Washington argued the city needs to “refine” its spending – joining a chorus of critics who argue Mayor Zohran Mamdani should be looking at cuts instead of pushing tax increases to balance the Big Apple’s budget.
“We all have big hearts and want to provide the biggest public safety net,” Washington said, before noting social services costs in the city have ballooned by half, while the rest of New York decreased by roughly a quarter.
“Your ability to help needs to have some guardrails,” he said during a breakfast event hosted by the Citizens Budget Commission…