New York City Council Chair Rita Joseph and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams joined CUNY Rising Alliance groups today, Tuesday, March 17th, on the steps of City Hall to urge Mayor Mamdani and City Council to increase City funding for the City University of New York (CUNY). The City funds roughly three-quarters of CUNY community college operations. Speakers at the event, which announced the CUNY for All campaign, demanded quality CUNY for All, a fully staffed CUNY for All, and, ultimately, a free and fully funded CUNY for All.
City Council Higher Education Chair Rita Joseph at CUNY for All Press Conference Credit: Paul Frangipane
“As Chair of the Committee on Higher Education, I know firsthand that CUNY is one of the greatest engines of opportunity our city has ever built. Today, I stand with students, faculty, and advocates to demand that we fully invest in that promise. A quality CUNY for All means a fully staffed university, where students have access to the professors, advisors, and support services they need to succeed. It means following through on last year’s budget commitments by restoring full-time faculty and staff to pre-pandemic levels, protecting critical grant-funded programs, and expanding proven initiatives like ASAP, SEEK, ACE, and Reconnect. It also means recognizing that affordability goes beyond tuition; our students deserve free transit so they can get to class, stay enrolled, and graduate on time. I am proud to stand united in calling for a free and fully funded CUNY for All because when we invest in our students, we invest in the future of this city.” said Rita Joseph, New York City Council Member, Chair of Higher Education Committee.
NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams at CUNY for All Press Conference Credit: Paul Frangipane
“It feels like every year, we have to fight for CUNY students’ basic opportunities to receive a quality, affordable education. I’m a CUNY grad twice over, and I fear that students across our city will be denied the kind of transformative, invaluable, CUNY experience I had. Our state and city are now at a critical juncture. They can either decide to build on their investment in higher ed and ensure students receive a quality affordable education, or allow an invaluable, historic educational institution to decline, along with the opportunities it creates,” said NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
In this year’s New York City budget, supporting CUNY for All means replenishing the ranks of the full-time faculty and staff, free transit for CUNY students, protecting grant-funded programs, and expanding proven student success programs like CUNY Reconnect, ASAP and ACE.
Four years of budget cuts enacted by former Mayor Eric Adams have left CUNY colleges with nearly 400 unfilled civilian and pedagogical positions. Funding for these positions was restored in Adams’ final budget, but CUNY management has not yet filled all of the vacancies. Speakers at the rally called on CUNY to fill the funded positions immediately and urged the City to fund many more faculty and staff positions.
PSC CUNY President James Davis Addresses at CUNY for All Press Conference Credit: Paul Frangipane
“CUNY students should have the same access to full-time faculty as students at most other colleges and universities. A ratio of 65 full-time faculty for every 1,000 students is the goal. CUNY enrollment is up, led by the community colleges, so we need CUNY to hire into full-time positions with the money that’s already been allocated and, ultimately, $264 million is needed from the City to hire the 2,876 additional full-time community college faculty our students deserve,” said James Davis, President of the Professional Staff Congress/CUNY.
New York’s K-12 students receive free OMNY Cards, but CUNY students do not. As a step toward free transit for all CUNY students, the groups called on the City to provide $700,000 to fund half of a Commuter Grant Pilot Program of free OMNY cards for student parents, students with disabilities, and other high need populations. The state would pay the other half.
“For too many CUNY students, the biggest barrier to success is simply getting to class. Transportation access is not a luxury; it is a necessity. Free OMNY cards for CUNY students would remove one of the most immediate financial burdens our students face, increase retention and graduation rates, and directly strengthen New York’s workforce,” said Akkeem Polack, CUNY Trustee, University Student Senate Chairperson.
Other items on the CUNY for All platform for the next City budget include:
- $11.7 million to expand CUNY Reconnect, a program that has helped 47,000 students re-enroll in CUNY
- $74 million to hire 352 culturally competent advisors to achieve an advisor-to-student ratio of 1 to 100
- $22 million to hire 119 mental health counselors to students to achieve a counselor-to-student ratio of 1 to 500
- $26 million to provide bridge funding to replace lost federal research dollars
- $86 million to double the number of students who attend community college free and receive wraparound support services through the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP)
- $9.1 million to expand Accelerate, Complete, Engage (ACE), the senior college version of ASAP
- Increased capital investment to fix CUNY’s crumbling infrastructure and update facilities
“CUNY has always been one of New York City’s greatest engines of opportunity. As a CUNY graduate who grew up in a low-income immigrant household in Brooklyn, I know firsthand what access to an affordable public college can mean for a family’s future. But that promise only holds true if we invest in the very institution that makes it possible. A fully staffed, fully funded, and ultimately free CUNY is not just good for students; it’s essential for the economic mobility of New Yorkers and the future of this city,” said Melissa Clarke, New York Policy Director, uAspire.
“CUNY students deserve a high-quality, fully funded CUNY for All. As a student who relies on public transportation, balances school and work, and witnesses crumbling infrastructure at CUNY every day, I know firsthand how critical it is for the city to invest in CUNY and my peers’ futures. The city must invest in free student OMNY cards, expanded financial aid, increased community college funding, and capital funding to ensure students receive the education that New Yorkers deserve,” said Matthew Ferrer, College of Staten Island student and NYPIRG member.
“At a time when higher education is under attack across the country, New York should remember what it once stood for. This city once believed so strongly in public higher education that CUNY was free. That promise helped build the middle class for generations of immigrants. The working-class and immigrant students who fill CUNY classrooms today deserve that same commitment. Too many students face barriers that prevent them from having access to and receiving a quality education. If we want to support students’ success, we must invest in CUNY. A free CUNY built the New York City we know today, and it can build the New York City of tomorrow,” said Zaakirah Rahman, Coordinator of the CUNY Rising Alliance.
Credit: Paul Frangipane
Published: March 17, 2026
