Mayor Adams pushes back on NYC Council speaker’s criticism of NYPD OT spending: ‘Not compromising on public safety’

Mayor Adams vowed Wednesday that when it comes to the pending New York City budget, he is “not compromising on public safety.”

“That’s not going to happen,” he said during a press conference in the Bronx. “Public safety is the foundation of the city. That’s what taxpayers say. That’s what my businesses are saying. That’s what everyone is saying. We want to be safe, and I’m not compromising on that.”

The mayor was responding to criticism from Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who a day earlier slammed the NYPD for going over budget on overtime spending and for failing to adequately explain why in a recent hearing.

The speaker, who’s not related to Mayor Adams, said during an interview Tuesday she agrees with the premise laid out by the Council’s Progressive Caucus that community investments such as housing and mental health services should take priority over NYPD spending.

She also noted that the city needs to “rein in” NYPD overtime spending and that “no other agency could possibly get away with this.”

“We’re very concerned, and we’re going to have to take a serious look at this,” she said.

The mayor’s staunch support of NYPD spending is nothing new. But his latest comments come amid budget negotiations with the City Council and amount to drawing a proverbial line in the sand as the possibility of a showdown with the speaker and other Council members looms over proposed cuts to city agencies such as the Parks Department and public libraries.

Mayor Adams was asked about those cuts Wednesday and said “it is a misreporting to state that we are making cuts.”

“We’ve asked every agency in the city to look for efficiencies,” he said, stressing that those requests were aimed in part at culling vacant positions. “I think the libraries are doing an amazing job. We told them we want you to focus on vacancies and efficiencies” while trying to avoid layoffs and “ensure that we don’t cut the delivery of services.”

But Queens Councilwoman Tiffany Caban, a democratic socialist member of the Council Progressive Caucus, said it’s “simply untrue” for Adams to claim he isn’t slashing library funding.

“Talk to librarians. Talk to people at the libraries. They are saying that they can’t deliver the services. They are saying that they can’t keep open on Saturdays because [the administration] is going to eliminate positions they need,” she told the Daily News.

Caban also made the case that Adams’ budget is “not pro-public safety” because she argued it prioritizes “unnecessary” police overtime spending over investments in social services.

“Libraries are public safety, funding housing is public safety, funding social services is public safety,” she said. “Every dollar that goes toward unnecessary overtime funding is a dollar that doesn’t go into [those initiatives].”

In his Bronx news conference, Adams acknowledged the hardship finding efficiencies represents for city agencies, but pointed to the $4 billion bill he expects will be ultimately attached to the city’s handling of the migrant crisis.

“That money will come from somewhere,” he said. “There is a financial crisis that we are facing. So I understand what they are saying. I respect it, but I need for all of my agencies to focus on how do we weather this storm.”

Still, Adams’ first budget proposal of this year kept projected NYPD spending flat — a fact progressive lawmakers have homed in on.

To boot, city Comptroller Brad Lander released a report this week that found the city has already overspent on its NYPD overtime budget by $98 million in 2023 and will nearly double its OT budget once the fiscal year is through.

Asked about police OT, Adams said Wednesday the additional money spent is going toward keeping the subways safe, a major concern of his and of Gov. Hochul.

He suggested that much of the overtime is bankrolled by state and federal funding that’s specifically earmarked toward safety in the subways and the city’s broader economic recovery.

“Our city must be safe. I have never shied away from that,” he said. “That’s the foundation of the economic recovery and the stability of the city.”