A day after announcing $1.6 billion in budget cuts that include thousands of layoffs, Mayor Bloomberg said that there's still going to be a $2.4 billion deficit for the following fiscal year...which means residents (and city employees) should expect to feel the crunch. He said on John Gambling's radio show," Somehow, in January, we've got to come up with $2 billion more in tax revenues, fee revenues, that sort of thing, or cuts, or what's more likely is some combination." Correction officers union head Norman Seabrook told the Post about his idea for raising money: A tax for tourists coming to NYC, "There's only one New York. Where else are they going to go?" more ›

Yesterday, the City Council approved, 48-1, the $63.1 billion city budget, which was hammered out by Mayor Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christine Quinn last week. The budget features at least 1,000 layoffs, reducing library hours from six days to five, and other program cuts. Speaker Quinn said, "It’s neither good nor bad. It is the reality of the best the Council and the mayor could do in the times that we are in." more ›

Well, this is a bummer. As NewYorkology notes, tonight the Jones Beach summer concert series kicks off with the kick-ass Jethro Tull, but because of the MTA budget cuts, New Yorkers who schlep out there by LIRR and bus are going to have a real hassle getting home. There will be no public bus service after the show due to the cuts, and the last bus heading to the venue from Freeport leaves at 7:35 p.m. Sure, you can get a cab to the amphitheater, but it's going to be tough sledding getting back to the train station after Rush, KISS, or Creed lets out. Concert promoters Live Nation said today, "As of right now it’s just cabs." Good luck with that! more ›

Since Senate Dems passed a budget resolution replete with slashes yesterday, NYC officials are already preparing for the carnage. The exact sum of the cuts hasn't been named yet, but in January Budget Director Mark Page said the city could lose $1.3 billion in a "worst-case" scenario. In light of that estimate, Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler warns that it is unlikely "head-count reductions wouldn't be part of the answer." more ›

The chief watchdog group for the MTA released their annual report today (read it yourself below) sternly criticizing the agency on its mismanagement of several different projects. The Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee said in the report that it was "extremely disappointed" that a lawsuit between the MTA and Lockheed Security has ground plans to install anti-terror video cameras around the city to a halt. $833 million has already been invested in the plan, which is currently in limbo: "There is no definitive word on what the next step will be. The lapse in moving forward with this initiative is inexcusable," the report states. more ›

With a $4.9 billion budget gap looming, city departments face budget cuts across the board, and the Parks Department is no exception. Mayor Bloomberg's $63.6 billion preliminary spending plan for the next fiscal year anticipates the Parks Department's budget shrinking by 9.4 percent, to $239.1 million, the Post reports. There's talk of staff cuts of up to 20 percent, from 3,722 to 2,974, and four of the city's 54 outdoor pools are set to close. The pool season will also be shortened by two weeks, saving the city $1.4 million. Naturally, Geoffrey Croft at NYC Park Advocates is pissed. more ›

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has revised its proposed plan for "Doomsday" service cuts, potentially rescuing nighttime service on several crosstown buses, saving the Z train, and ensuring that trains run every 20 minutes, not every 30 minutes, late at night. The MTA's new proposed cuts no longer threaten the M79 and M96 buses, and nighttime service on Eighth Avenue's M10 bus would be preserved. The M train would still be cut, though the V train — which currently terminates in the Lower East Side — would extend into Brooklyn to cover its stops in Williamsburg and further east. Though the W train would still be eliminated, Q trains would extend into Queens and N trains would run local in Manhattan to cover its stops. more ›

As the Metropolitan Transportation Authority considers far-reaching service cuts that could eliminate free Metrocards for students and nix entire subway lines, the MTA's chairman unveiled a series of agency-wide goals intended to make commuting easier. MTA Chair Jay Walder said the city's public transit needs a "top-to-bottom overhaul" because "many service improvements are long overdue and ... customers are tired of hearing excuses." more ›

The deficit-reduction plan passed by the State Legislature yesterday cut $140 million from the authority's operating budget, which is more than the $110 million that was originally anticipated. Bus and subway fares are already expected to rise 7.5 percent in 2011 and 2013, but after a hearing today on the MTA’s capital plan, Jay Walder, the authority's chief, told reporters that he would not raise fares... at least not next year. more ›

The magazine massacre rolls on at publishing empire Condé Nast, with the company reportedly cutting three more magazines: Gourmet, Cookie and Modern Bride. While NY1's Pat Kiernan is sad about Cookie crumbling, the gourmands out there will not be happy with the news of the nearly 70-year-old Gourmet folding, a mag the Times declares reached "biblical status in the food world." more ›

Some 150 National Guardsmen have been pulled from details patrolling the city's transportation hubs, as part of a restructuring that officials claim will actually make the soldiers more responsive to threats. Guard spokesman Richard Goldberg tells the Post, "We are at more locations now because we're not tied to specific facilities. You'll still see us at Penn Station and the airports, but you'll also see them at critical transport sites, like bus terminals." Last year the National Guard had 430 soldiers based in the city; now there are 280. Another spokesman asserts that because the troops are now stationed out of Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn instead of airports and train stations, they're better equipped to "selectively respond" to emergencies or as cops need reinforcements. Another bonus is that the drawdown will probably save the state over ten million dollars. But their absence has left some commuters, like administrative assistant Donna El-Maadawy, feeling very unguarded; she tells the Post, "I rarely see them anymore. Not having them present will makes me feel uneasy. You just never know when we may need them." more ›

Yesterday the Brooklyn Museum sent out a press release regarding the new economic reality and how it will impact the establishment. The laundry list of cuts and changes included: a new budget, hiring freeze, the cancellation of a major exhibition (which would have included works from the likes of Roy Lichtenstein), reduced number of major exhibitions overall, a moratorium on staff travel, and offering buyouts to all of its 281 full-time employees. This certainly doesn't paint a very pretty picture. The Brooklyn Paper notes that "The art world hasn’t seen cuts like this since Vincent Van Gogh lopped off his ear" (har har), citing a $2.3 million loss in aid from city government over the past three years. Last month they suggested visitors donate $2 more (upping the fee from $8 to $10). more ›

Thousands of teachers, health care workers, labor unions, and community groups held rallies across New York State yesterday to protest Governor Paterson's budget proposal, which would slash approximately $2.5 billion in education funding, $3.2 billion in health care, and cut billions from programs for senior services, disability services, housing assistance and crisis intervention programs. In downtown Manhattan, rally organizers say some 50,000 people assembled around City Hall, and the crowds forced the NYPD to reduce Broadway to one lane and close side streets. more ›

We knew it was coming, and this morning Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz held a mock funeral for the M train. Joining him were Daniel Squadron (New York State Senator), Michael Burke (Downtown Brooklyn Partnership), a bagpiper, and Paul Nelson (Assemblywoman Joan Millman's Chief of Staff). more ›

New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein (not pictured) brought a gloomy forecast to Albany yesterday, pleading with state lawmakers to reduce proposed budget cuts and to give the city more flexibility in how state aid is spent. According to Klein, a proposed $84 million cut from the current school year’s budget could "really wreak havoc" and force school administrators fire an estimated 15,000 employees, many of them teachers. more ›

The Straphangers Campaign, Brooklyn Borough president Marty Markowitz and even bagpiper John Maynard came together today to mourn the passing of the Z train. A mock funeral was held at the Fulton Street-Broadway/Nassau subway station in Manhattan, and those in attendance tell us that there was also a "call on lawmakers and the MTA to save the Z line in its 2009 budget." So what does this mean, besides having to refer to the line as the JM now?

Loss of the Z would end "skip stop" service on the J line during rush hours between Jamaica, Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, adding an hour extra each week in commuting for many riders, according to the Straphangers Campaign.

The express buses that many commuters rely upon to travel between their jobs in Manhattan to their far-flung outer-borough apartments are going under the MTA's sharpened budget knife, with an expected fare increase from $5 to $7.50, along with service cuts. But not if Mayor Bloomberg has anything to say about it—sources tell the Daily News that Bloomberg is pressuring MTA board members to spare the express buses. Next week the board is expected to adopt a "Draconian" budget, which could include the elimination of at least eight express bus routes. Bloomberg is telling his four city-appointed board members to give express bus riders a break because many of them lack other mass transit options to get to and from Manhattan. more ›

Kids, it's a cruel world out there. First they take away your TRL, and now this. Word is that Viacom has begun a "company-wide restructuring plan," which was announced via an email memo (after the jump) at 8:30 this morning, and means they're cutting down staff in all divisions. By the end of the corporate massacre, about 850 positions will have been eliminated. This shouldn't be too shocking considering the memos that led up to it and the fact that last year employees got royally scrooged when it came to holiday bonuses, and had to fight for their rights to insurance. But you're on notice, Redstone: Make any cuts to The City and we will cut you. more ›

This weekend Times reporters rode the MTA's weekend express bus lines and came back with a total downer of a story about how the elimination of the routes would leave lower income commuters particularly screwed. For instance, 69-year-old Myrtis Williams lives in the Marcy Houses in Brooklyn and is completely dependent on the potentially doomed B57; the subway isn't an option for her because her peripheral artery disease and diabetes make taking the stairs painful. But one strange ray of hope in the article comes from bus driver Mitchell Verley; despite his two decades working for the MTA, this man's faith in city bureaucracy is still miraculously intact: "I think somehow the government or something will come up with the money to keep it going," he tells the Times. more ›

The New York State Legislature finally passed a budget two weeks ago, which it balanced by taking on extra debt without the approval of voters to fund a 6% increase in spending as revenues continue to shrink. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says New York is heading for trouble, especially since revenue projections are so uncertain and vulnerable to further economic downturn. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg traveled to Albany yesterday with a delicately phrased but succinct query: Where is our cash you deadbeats? Bloomberg recently explained all city agencies had to undergo belt-tightening in preparation of a downturn of the city's economy. He wasn't prepared to be short-shrifted by Albany, from where the city depends on a certain level of budgetary support. more ›

No More Bolaris in the Forecast You won’t be seeing John Bolaris anymore on WCBS. He was last seen this past weekend and his bio has been taken down from the CBS 2 website. He will be starting at Fox owned WTXF in Philadelphia next month. We should mention that before the Long Island native was basically run out of town on a rail down there after predicting a blizzard that never happened, although he... more ›