New York City expects to take a $7.4 billion budget hit over the next 15 months because of the coronavirus.
That's according to Mayor Bill de Blasio, who detailed planned cuts Thursday.
He's appealing to President Donald Trump and Congress for an infusion of cash for cities and states.
“If you lead, the Senate will follow. If you are silent, they will not. It’s on you, Mr. President,” the Democrat said at a news briefing. He said he spoke Wednesday to the Republican president and told him “his hometown needs him.”
The mayor's office said in a release that the city so far has spent over $700 million to fight the virus outbreak and expects to spend a total of $3.5 billion by the end of December.
The new spending has come as tax revenues are shrinking. The mayor’s new $89.3 budget proposal, released Thursday, trims projected tax revenue by $2.2 billion in the current budget year, and it’s $5.2 billion lower than his earlier plan for the fiscal year that begins in July.
“The federal government has to come to the rescue,” de Blasio said. “No Americans should have to go through what New York is going through.”
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