Ultra-left-wing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani wants Gov. Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature to raise taxes on the rich and corporations, so the New York City government has more money to spend. This month, the fledgling Mayor said he would have no choice but to raise property taxes if the Governor and the Legislature do not give in to his wishes. If the Mayor and the New York City Council follow through on this threat, the financial burden of the property tax increases will fall on vast numbers of New York City families—not just the wealthy.
Here’s the situation: Mayor Mamdani has proposed a $127 billion budget for the 2027 fiscal year. For context, New York City’s budget for the 2026 fiscal year was $118.2 billion. Back in 2014, New York City’s budget was $77 billion. If the Mayor’s budget proposal is enacted, New York City’s budget will have increased by 7% from last year’s budget and by 39% over the past 13 years. Mayor Mamdani is a democratic socialist. Raising taxes on the rich to fund a larger, more expansive city government was a core part of his campaign agenda last year. Thus far, his fiscal policies are consistent with his campaign rhetoric and his overall far-left political philosophy.
In January, Mayor Mamdani announced that New York City faced a $12 billion gap between its projected revenues and expenditures. Subject to the Legislature’s approval, Gov. Hochul has pledged to contribute $1.5 billion in state funds to help close the gap. Following this and other developments, the Mayor indicated on February 17 that the City’s two-year budget gap was $5.4 billion.
Most New Yorkers would appreciate being given $1.5 billion to help balance their budgets. Mayor Mamdani is not most people, and he is unhappy that Gov. Hochul has shown no indication of giving in to his push for tax hikes. Here’s what the Mayor had to say on February 17: “‘There are two paths to bridge the city’s inherited budget gap. The first path is the most sustainable and fairest: raising taxes on the wealthiest and corporations and ending the drain by fixing the imbalance between what the City provides the State and what we receive in return. If we do not go down the first path, the City will be forced to go down a second, more harmful path of property taxes and raiding our reserves — weakening our long-term fiscal footing and placing the onus for resolving this crisis on the backs of working and middle-class New Yorkers. We do not want to have to turn to such drastic measures to balance our budget. But, faced with no other choice, we will be forced to.’” The Mayor went on to propose a whopping 9.5% property tax increase.
From a political standpoint, Mayor Mamdani’s words are ill-advised. First, Gov. Hochul is unlikely to appreciate the Mayor’s demands for more state help—especially given that she just extended herself to help him with his budget gap. She is also unlikely to appreciate his claim that New York City is treated unfairly by the state in government spending. Second, if New York City implements a major property tax increase, the voters will likely blame the Mayor—not Gov. Hochul or the New York State Legislature.
From a governance perspective, Mayor Mamdani’s property tax proposal is a terrible idea.[1] The proposed 9.5% property tax hike would not only fall on New York City homeowners and property owners but also on New York City renters, whose rents—already among the highest in the nation—would rise to pay for the tax hikes. This proposal would take money out of New York families’ pockets—money that could otherwise be spent on food, clothing, and other necessities. The Mayor’s proposal is an anti-family proposal.
Furthermore, Mayor Mamdani’s remarks about his property tax proposal are dishonest. The Mayor contends that, without tax hikes at the state level, he will be “forced” to raise property taxes. This is nonsense. In response to New York City’s $5.4 billion budget gap, the Mayor should not behave like a spoiled child who believes his allowance is too low. Instead, he should do what any responsible New York family would do when short on money: cut spending. (Why is a $127 billion 2027 budget necessary when the 2026 budget was only $118.2 billion?) It is not the job of Gov. Hochul or the State Legislature to balance the New York City budget; it is Mayor Mamdani’s job. If the Mayor cannot make difficult choices, find efficiencies, and balance the New York City budget without help from the state, he should not remain in his current position.
[1] New York Families takes no position on Mayor Mamdani’s calls to increase income taxes on wealthy New Yorkers. We do, however, acknowledge that Gov. Hochul’s longstanding opposition to such increases makes it unlikely that this proposal will come to fruition. As to his proposal to hike corporate taxes, we are concerned that such tax hikes could be passed on to everyday New Yorkers through price increases.