NEW YORK BUILDING CONGRESS STATEMENT ON MAYOR ADAMS’ STATE OF THE CITY AND EXECUTIVE BUDGET PRIORITIES
Mayor’s Focus on Infrastructure, Housing, and Transportation Investments
as Means to Creating a Safer, More Just City is “Bold,” “Forward-thinking,” and
“Will Go a Long Way Toward Improving Quality of Life for Everyday New Yorkers”
NEW YORK, April 26, 2022 – The New York Building Congress President and CEO Carlo A. Scissura released the following statement after Mayor Adams’ announcements today:
“The Building Congress applauds the forward-thinking policies and projects Mayor Adams has proposed in his first State of the City address and prioritized in his first Executive Budget.
In his $99.7 billion balanced budget, the Mayor has made investment in infrastructure one of the four pillars of his bold vision for the city’s future. The Mayor understands that building needs to happen above and below ground, and in the public and private sectors. But he clearly understands that in order to foster an equitable recovery and safer city, build we must.
$140M in capital investment at the Hunts Point Produce Market… a groundbreaking $488M for parks… myriad transportation improvements for everything from traffic signals to crosswalks to better-protected bike lanes… to crucial underground upgrades for our sewage and water main overhauls… will all go a long way toward improving quality of life for everyday New Yorkers. It will also keep them safer, in ways seen and unseen.
His emphasis on increased funding and access for Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprises, and a renewed focus on creating and expanding green jobs are exactly in line with what our research shows will help the construction industry thrive and grow.
Finally, increased investment in housing – so far 1,000 new beds, 2,500 families placed into shelters, and 2,700 into subsidized housing – is, as the Mayor put it, “the key to economic recovery.” And he is correct in his assertion that “housing cannot be a privilege for those with supportive families or generational wealth,” but should be viewed as a basic human right steeped in dignity, and as part of a larger plan for improving public safety. To that end, his historic $5 billion investment in critical repairs at NYCHA, to subsidize those who need help staying in their existing homes, and to build more deeply affordable housing (a need that has stagnated for too long in our city, and which must be addressed with a continuation of 421a or an alternative plan), will impact generations to come.
Our diverse membership, as ever, stands ready to use their know-how and resources to cooperate fully with city government toward achieving the noble goals laid out in Mayor Adams’ budget. We look forward to a role in helping shape the next great era of building in our magnificent city. Together, we can ensure a prosperous future that all New Yorkers can be proud of — and share in.”
The New York Building Congress, a broad-based membership association in its 101st year, is committed to promoting the growth and success of the construction industry in New York City and its environs.
