Mayor Orders 20% Cut in Asylum Seeker Spending

Mayor Adams has ordered a 20% decrease in spending on asylum seekers. This follows his announcement of citywide budget cuts in the November Plan, and the City is budgeted to spend over $6B on asylum seeker costs in the next two years. Jacques Jiha, the City’s budget director, wrote in a letter to agency heads that, “The city cannot sustain asylum seeker care expenses at current levels and, at the same time, maintain city services and keep the city safe and clean.” The cuts will apply to both the FY24 and FY24 budget; the City is currently budgeted to spend over $6B on asylum seeker costs.

UFT Report Indicates 300K NYC Students in Overcrowded Classrooms

The United Federation of Teachers released a new report, finding that over 300,000 students in high-need schools are in classes larger than permitted by state law. A 2022 state law established that K-3 is capped at 20 students, grades 4-8 at 23 students, and grades 9-12 at 25 students. Their analysis indicates that over 50% of Title 1 schools, which have a higher concentration of students living in poverty, have class sizes above these limits. All NYC classrooms are expected to be in compliance by 2028.

Adams Accused of 1993 Sexual Assault Under Adult Survivors Act

Mayor Adams has been accused of sexual assault in a lawsuit filed under New York’s Adult Survivors Act. The suit accuses Mayor Adams of assaulting a woman, who also worked as a City employee, when he was a police officer in 1993. The Adult Survivors Act, signed in 2022, provides a one-year window for victims to bring lawsuits over sexual assaults that may have occurred years or decades prior. The law’s grace period expired this past Friday. Mayor Adams has denied these allegations.