New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday said that he was encouraged the city could close its projected $7 billion budget gap after meeting with Albany lawmakers a day earlier.
Mamdani, who met with state officials on what is known as "Tin Cup Day" on Wednesday, said the city now projects the budget deficit for the next two fiscal years at $7 billion, down from the previously projected $12 billion due to higher than expected Wall Street bonuses and the city's plan to draw down on general reserves.
The mayor continued to call for raising taxes on corporations and the wealthiest New Yorkers, despite Governor Kathy Hochul's reluctance to support such a measure.
"I am encouraged by the conversations we're having with Albany about how we can bridge that $7 billion gap for these next two fiscal years," Mamdani said at a press conference at City Hall on Thursday. "I'm encouraged by where we are, and I'll tell you that I think that the most straightforward ways of dealing with this are structural measures, whether it be the taxation of the wealthiest New Yorkers, increasing taxes on the most profitable corporations, as well as by ending the drain, the relationship between the city and the state."
When asked whether he supported the growth of City FHEPS, a rental assistance program that the City Council and tenant advocates want to expand, Mamdani said his administration is looking into many policies that will help housing affordability after the New York Times reported that he was curtailing his support for expanding the $1 billion program.
Due to the budget deficit, he said the city is now negotiating with housing advocates on how to settle a lawsuit, filed by the Legal Aid Society, that looked to grow the program.
"...rental assistance is just one aspect of our city's approach to delivering a more affordable city," Mamdani said. "The other aspects also ensure that we keep people in their homes."
The mayor also said he nominated Nadia Shihata to serve as the commissioner of the Department of Investigation. She served as a federal prosecutor within the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District for more than a decade, and had her own law firm.
