State of the City receives mixed reviews from nonprofits

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio trumpeted his accomplishments last night in his hourlong State of the City address, lighting on some of the initiatives in his preliminary budget that will channel funds to many nonprofits tasked with tackling the mayor’s major challenges, including affordable housing, mental illness and income inequality.

“We see the ‘Tale of Two Cities’ transforming into one New York,” the mayor said in his opening remarks, later adding, “I have seen people come together as one New York in an astounding way, time and time again.”

But the mayor’s intended message of a diverse, fair and unified city was clear before he took the podium – the city’s first lesbian fire department chaplain gave the opening prayer, exhorting New Yorkers to pay their workers a living wage; a Muslim family led the pledge of allegiance; a young women’s choir sang a spirited rendition of the national anthem; and a black teenager introduced the mayor, thanking him for ending stop-and-frisk policing. The mayor would later explain that even delivering the speech in prime time was designed to allow “working New Yorkers” to have a chance to hear it.

During the speech, the mayor’s focus remained fixed on these themes and how his administration had helped to accomplish past campaign promises, often giving only cursory treatment to his new budget proposals or the nonprofits that will help implement them.

Mental health

To read the full story, visit our sister publication, New York Nonprofit Media, here.