At a late night session of the City Council on Thursday night, Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council agreed on a $63 billion budget which will  mean painful job losses in schools and other social services. According to the NY Times, the city will make the 2,000 or so cuts largely by attrition although there will be layoffs.

The deal marks the end of a process that lasted months due to a $5 billion shortfall and a serious recession.

25 fire houses that were marked for closure were saved. That alone preserves the jobs of 400 firefighters at a cost of $37 million. Also spared were caseworkers at the Administration for Children’s Services.

And in good news for city children: all of the city’s swimming pools will remain open for the summer, including the Double D pool on Douglas Street in Park Slope/Gowanus.

There will be no tax increases or fees; tax revenues were higher than expected this year due to gains on Wall Street.