Mamdani threatens 9.5% property tax increase to fill NYC budget gap if Albany won’t tax rich

Mayor Zohran Mamdani laid out two potential paths Tuesday to close his now $5.4 billion budget gap for New York City.

One, Albany can raise taxes on the richest New Yorkers; or two, the City raises the property tax rate by 9.5%.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has repeatedly said she is not on board the mayor’s first, and more preferred, option. If Albany does not agree to taxing the wealthiest New Yorkers, Mamdani says the city would need to raise property taxes in New York City to fill the budget gap.

Mamdani described the property tax option as a “last resort” that would “balance the budget on the backs of working people using the only tools at the City’s disposal.”

Property taxes stand as the city’s largest source of revenue, and as the only tax within the city’s power to raise.

“I’m not supportive of property tax increase, I don’t know that that’s necessary,” Hochul said Monday in response to the mayor’s budget plan threatening tax hikes on New York City properties.

The governor has suggested that Mamdani should look at where adjustments can be made in current spending, weed out any abuses, and avoid “taxing for the sake of taxing.” On Monday, Hochul pledged another $1.5 billion to help dig out the city’s budget hole, in addition to helping him secure new funding for child care programs.

The last time New York City increased property taxes was under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg after the September 11 terror attacks.

The mayor held a series of meetings Tuesday morning to discuss the Fiscal Year 2027 preliminary budget, including a meeting with Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Comptroller Mark Levine and City Council Speaker Julie Menin.

“Someone is going to feel the pain unfortunately of having to pay,” Williams told reporters inside City Hall after the meeting. “The question is who do you want to feel that? The most wealthy, which is a small amount and they actually have more expendable income… or the working class and the rest of everybody else.”

“The governor has the opportunity to say I am going to think about all New Yorkers, and not just the wealthiest,” Williams continued.

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin and Council Member Linda Lee, chair of the Committee on Finance, issued a statement on the mayor’s preliminary budget, saying in part, “dipping into rainy day reserves and proposing significant property tax increases should not be on the table whatsoever.”

“The Council believes there are additional areas of savings and revenue that deserve careful scrutiny before increasing the burden on small property owners and neighborhood small businesses, which could worsen the affordability crisis,” the statement continued.