Editing Abraham Beame (section)

===Fiscal crisis of 1975===
{{Main|1975 New York City fiscal crisis}}
Beame entered office facing the [[1975 New York City fiscal crisis|worst fiscal crisis]] in the city's history and spent most of his term attempting to ward off bankruptcy. Soon after being sworn in as mayor, Beame slashed the city workforce, froze salaries, and reconfigured the budget, which proved unsatisfactory until reinforced by actions from newly created state-sponsored entities and the granting of federal funds.

In October 1975, the city of New York was in debt of $453 million. Beame made a statement on October 17 that the city had insufficient cash on hand to meet its debt obligations for that day. He added that New York City citizens needed to take immediate steps to protect the city's essential life support systems and to preserve their well-being. President [[Gerald Ford]] at first turned down New York's request for a loan, inspiring the legendary ''[[New York Daily News|Daily News]]'' headline "Ford to City: Drop Dead", but Ford later approved federal support for New York.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Nussbaum|first=Jeff|date=October 16, 2015|title=The Night New York Saved Itself From Bankruptcy|magazine=The New Yorker|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-night-new-york-saved-itself-from-bankruptcy|access-date=December 7, 2020}}</ref>