New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio estimates the city is nearly $9 billion in the hole due to the coronavirus pandemic, Fox News reports.
On Wednesday, de Blasio said the city needs help from a stimulus program in order to keep the city functioning.
“We are now $9 billion in the hole between the current fiscal year and the one that begins July 1,” de Blasio said. “We have lost billions upon billions of dollars of revenue that we use to serve our people. It’s gone. It’s not coming back.”
The mayor previously estimated the city faced a shortfall of $7.4 billion in lost revenue. On Wednesday, he said that number has grown to nearly $9 billion.
“The only way to possibly keep this city functioning and keep the services provided, keep people on our payroll, is if we get a really substantial stimulus program from Washington,” he said.
He said he also asked the state of New York for help.
“It’s something we need as a last resort if our federal government isn’t there for us, if we’re going to maintain basic services here in the city,” he said.
He said the city’s budget is due on June 30. Any cuts made to save money would affect “all agencies,” he said.
“There is literally no way that we can solve this problem without federal help or without having to make very, very painful choices that will affect the quality of life in this city, our ability to provide basic services and how many people we’re able to employ to support you in the middle of a pandemic,” he said.
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