PUBLIC ADVOCATE’S “BUILD-A-BUDGET” TOOL HELPS NEW YORKERS NAVIGATE CITY SPENDING

 

With just weeks to go before the city budget deadline, and as the city is now projected to take in $2 billion more in revenue than previously estimated, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams is helping New Yorkers weigh in on and navigate city spending with a ‘Build-a-Budget’ tool.

The Build-A-Budget simulator is an accessible, interactive way for people to visualize the way the city’s money is spent, where it comes from, and what goes into ensuring that it is balanced without slashing city services. Within the interface, users can raise and lower city expenditures across agencies and initiatives.

“While the state budget is settled, the hard decisions are far from over at City Hall, and the people who will feel the impact of investments or cuts deserve the opportunity to see what’s at stake, and to make their voices heard before the final vote,” said New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. “When we talk about the budget, we often talk about the few people in the room deliberating and making the decisions. That obscurity gives power to the few – now with the Build-A-Budget tool, people can engage with the numbers right from their phones.”

The interactive platform was originally launched to show the importance of state measures to close the city’s budget gap. Now that the numbers are re-balanced and executive budget deliberations are underway, the simulator allows New Yorkers to submit their balanced budget proposal to the Public Advocate’s office ahead of the deadline. The city’s FY 2027 budget must be adopted by June 30, 2026. 

The default budget allocations within the tool are reflective of Mayor Mamdani’s Executive Budget proposal for FY2027. They do not include future projected gains or deficits.  The budget process is often opaque, and the potential tradeoffs and implications can be difficult to navigate. The Public Advocate’s office designed Build-A-Budget to increase transparency and participation opportunities for the millions of New Yorkers impacted by budget decisions. New Yorkers can try to Build-A-Budget today at advocate.nyc.gov/BuildABudget.