Mayor Michael Bloomberg already said a few weeks ago that he would not lay off police officers due to budget cuts, but now NBCNewYork has learned his executive budget today will also restore 892 police officer jobs he planned to eliminate through attrition.
The reconsideration comes following a result of the failed car-bomb plot in Times Square over the weekend.
The plan to reduce headcount by 892 officers was in the mayor's January plan, which is just a preliminary budget. On Thursday Bloomberg will announce the final plan that goes to the city council for negotiation and approval.
How can he afford to spare these cops? Tax revenues are slightly higher than the city's conservative estimates, so a few of the worst budget cuts are off the table.
Teachers, however, will shoulder the bulk of the pain. The mayor is expected to announce the city's plans to chop 6,400 teacher jobs, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“Unlike Albany, we in New York City have made tough choices and unpopular budget cuts over the last three years to keep the City’s fiscal house in order during the recession," said mayoral spokesman Stu Loeser. "The Mayor will lay out a budget on Thursday that by necessity will include further cuts to many important city services, but it won’t include a reduction in the number of police officers out on our streets keeping New York City safe.”
There are currently approximately 35,000 uniformed officers at NYPD -- nearly 6,000 less than the 40,800 officers the force had in 2001 when Bloomberg was first elected.
The budget cost for restoring the funding for the nearly 900 positions will be about $55 million. Today's proposal is also expected to include plans to slash the city's work force by about 5,000, primarily through attrition, and cuts to a multitude of community programs such as senior centers, day care centers and programs for kids, reports The New York Times.
