Fiscal therapy for the future

SAYING NEW YORK’S economy is strong but facing a deeply uncertain future, Mayor de Blasio Thursday unveiled his preliminary $82.1 billion budget that includes investments in safety, homelessness and schools.

In a marked shift from his previous budget presentations, he stressed the need to prepare for a downturn, citing recent upheavals in the stock market and the widening gap between the rich and poor as threats to city coffers.

New York is also grappling with two new local challenges that will cost it close to a billion dollars next year — an extra $600 million in new pension costs and a “crisis” with the public hospital system that requires a one-time $337 million infusion of funds.

The pension money stems from higher contributions the city must now make after it was determined it wasn’t providing enough to account for people living longer lives.

The $337 million in extra funding for public hospitals will go to the Health and Hospital Corp., which needs the cash because the feds and state have cut back so heavily on reimbursements for poor and uninsured patients.

Officials are trying to develop a new model for it because the current one is “not fiscally sustainable,” de Blasio said.

“We face some major challenges that didn’t exist the last time I spoke to you about our budget,” which covers the fiscal year beginning July 1, de Blasio said.

It wasn’t all bad news. The city’s economy is currently booming, with a record number of jobs — including many in the outer boroughs — and close to $5 billion in rainy day funds.

The budget provides $868 million to reduce school overcrowding. It also includes $700 million in new spending, with big-ticket items including $53.7 million to combat homelessness and close to $80 million to treat the mentally ill.

A whopping $99.6 million in spending is allocated to turn around the troubled jail system.

But de Blasio said don’t expect changes overnight. “I am not promising people a rose garden,” he said.