Mayor Zohran Mamdani said New York City is facing a projected $12 billion budget gap over the next two fiscal years, blaming what he described as underbudgeted expenses left by the prior Adams administration and arguing that the city sends far more money to Albany than it gets back. He urged a “recalibrating” of the city’s fiscal relationship with the state but did not outline specific cuts or a detailed alternative plan at the press conference.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani pivoted this week from public briefings on a winter storm response to a more politically fraught message: New York City’s financial plan, he said, is facing a $12 billion gap across the next two fiscal years.
Speaking at City Hall alongside senior members of his administration, Mamdani said the projected shortfall reflects costs that were not fully funded in the budget he inherited. He accused former Mayor Eric Adams’s administration of understating expenses by more than $7 billion while presenting budgets as balanced.
Separate fiscal analyses have also warned of large out-year deficits. New York City Comptroller Mark Levine’s office has projected a $2.18 billion gap in FY 2026, widening to $10.41 billion in FY 2027, $13.24 billion in FY 2028, and $12.36 billion in FY 2029.
Mamdani also argued that the city’s fiscal pressures are compounded by what he described as an unequal flow of money between New York City and New York State. Citing a recent analysis of state fiscal year 2021–2022, he said the city contributed $68.8 billion in state revenues and received $47.6 billion in state operating expenditures—what he called a roughly $21 billion gap that constrains the city’s ability to pay for local services.
Asked what a “recalibration” with Albany would mean in practice, Mamdani pointed to what he described as encouraging conversations with Governor Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders, but did not specify what programs would be reduced or what new revenues the city would pursue if the state rejects proposals to raise taxes. City officials indicated that more detail could come as the city moves toward its preliminary budget release, scheduled for February 17.
The announcement underscores the challenge for the new administration as it navigates long-running affordability and service concerns while trying to align its agenda with budget realities and state-level politics.
