De Blasio, wife Chirlane McCray and 493 others will take unpaid furlough at some point between October and March 2021, which is expected to save $860,000, according to The New York Times.

“We have to make tough choices to move this city forward and keep our budget balanced,” de Blasio told reporters. The city has been facing a roughly $9 billion budget deficit, officials said.

He added that the “current fiscal year budget is $7 billion less” than what the city projected in February.