(Bloomberg) -- New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said he is reducing his request for borrowing authority to $5 billion from $7 billion as he tries to win state approval for his plan to close a lockdown-induced budget gap.
The city has lost $9 billion in revenue since February because of the novel coronavirus crisis. It has cut $2.7 billion and is looking for another $1 billion, but it’s still seeking assistance from the federal and state governments.
De Blasio said that if the city doesn’t get the help it needs, he will lay off as many as 22,000 city employees.
“We need the fall-back of borrowing,” he said Friday at a press briefing.
The city has assured the state its borrowing will be over two years and that it won’t be accompanied by a property tax-rate increase, the mayor said.
