Public Employee Press

De Blasio budget: $15 wage, relief for hospitals

Mayor Bill de Blasio's proposed $82 billion budget calls for a $15 an hour minimum wage for city workers, boosts spending on public hospitals and adds $600 million a year in pension contributions.

"We're addressing the needs of New Yorkers through targeted investments in public safety, quality of life, vital social services, education and more, while protecting the city against the many risks ahead," said de Blasio when he unveiled the spending plan on Jan. 21.

Highlights of the plan include:

• An allocation of $337 million to help NYC Health + Hospitals meet pressing needs as it carries out restructuring.
• Expanded ambulance tours in Manhattan and Queens; a 30 percent increase in security for city parks with the hiring of 67 Parks Enforcement Patrol Officers and 50 seasonal staff;
• An Emergency Medical Services pilot initiative in the Bronx;
• Addressing overcrowding in the schools by providing $868 million for the School Construction Authority's five year capital plan;
• School investments that include $159 million to provide educational resources to students in school districts that have been historically underfunded and $76.7 million to fund advanced placement classes, college visits, algebra and computer science classes and college counseling for all students;

— Alfredo Alvarado