Gov warns of big hit to state budget

ALBANY — Major cuts are in store for the state budget as New York faces billions in lost revenue due to the coronavirus crisis, Gov. Cuomo said Sunday.

The governor offered a glimpse of what’s in store for the slimmed-down state spending plan as he pushes the Legislature for the power to adjust the budget periodically throughout the fiscal year.

“I know it’s politically hard for the Legislature. I know legislative bodies. They make friends by giving out a lot of money,” Cuomo (inset) said, noting the state could be in for a $15 billion loss in revenue due to the pandemic. “I’m not going to pass or sign a phony budget.”

The warning came as Democratic lawmakers, led by Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx), spent the weekend going over budget bills via videoconference — and gearing up for an unprecedented round of remote votes in light of the outbreak.

Cuomo and his team cautioned education funding, which makes up about a third of state spending annually, could be in for a hit, and hinted dramatic belt-tightening could be in store. “The big problem is how do you fund the schools,” he said. “That’s where we have zero dollars.”

The Alliance for Quality Education pushed back on the possible cuts. “It is clear that if New York State divests from education right now, it would shred the very fabric of our public education system and our society,” the group said.

Some school aid could come from Washington as Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) touted the latest coronavirus stimulus package over the weekend that he said includes more than $1 billion for education in the state.

Cuomo has publicly sparred with Schumer, blasting Congress for not offering more funds directly to the state and hampering his plan to overhaul the state Medicaid program.