Zohran Mamdani will release his preliminary budget numbers today

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Today, I’m releasing the City’s preliminary budget. After years of fiscal mismanagement, we’re staring at a $5.4 billion budget gap — and two paths.

One: Albany can raise taxes on the ultra-wealthy and the most profitable corporations and address the fiscal imbalance between our city and state.

The other, a last resort: balance the budget on the backs of working people using the only tools at the City's disposal.
 
The first path matches a structural crisis with a sustainable and fair solution. I know where I stand.

New Yorkers voted for bold change and competent leadership. We will deliver both, and we look forward to partnering with Albany to protect working New Yorkers.

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Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled a record $127 billion budget Tuesday — with an ultimatum to Albany to tax the rich or he’ll slap the Big Apple with a massive property tax hike.

The eye-popping preliminary budget — up around $11 billion from the current year — will also call for the city to pull from its $10 billion rainy day fund.

The Democratic socialist framed his proposal — which would also include pulling from the city’s $10 billion rainy day fund — as a “last resort” to balance the budget if Gov. Kathy Hochul doesn’t agree to increase taxes on millionaires. 

“I do not want to raise property taxes,” Mamdani said of his preliminary budget plan, which would hike property taxes 9.5% to raise an additional $3.7 billion in the next fiscal year.

“When faced with this crisis, the question is who should pay these taxes? I believe that it should be the wealthiest New Yorkers, the most profitable corporations. I believe that they can afford to pay a little bit more,” Mamdani said.

The presentation kicked off months of negotiations with top local officials, including City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who said hiking property taxes was a non-starter.

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