Mayor Zohran Mamdani: I am grateful to every member of the legislature who took the time to pose thoughtful questions about the future of our city and the priorities that must define our work in the years to come. I am also grateful to the legislative leaders for their commitment to work closely with City Hall to build a city where every one of the 8.5 million New Yorkers who calls it home can afford to live a dignified life.
I've spoken at length both today and over the past weeks and months about the importance of building a new kind of relationship between city and state government. For too long that relationship has been defined by acrimony and animus and the people have suffered as a result. Costs have soared, housing has not been built, our buses have only gotten slower, and it has grown harder and harder for more New Yorkers to imagine their futures in the city that they love.
And while we will not always agree on every issue before us, I feel heartened by today, as well as so much else over the past six weeks, as we build a new relationship that places partnership before pettiness. As we work together to end the drain that has long characterized the dynamic between our city and our state. And that partnership has already set us on a course for universal childcare and together there is so much more that I know that we can achieve. Thank you, now I'll take your questions.
Question: So, two weeks ago, you rolled out your estimates for the budget gap at $12 billion. But, you know, talking to those that know the city budget, they say you're using November estimates and we're not accounting for what always comes in December, which is Wall Street bonuses, and then after the filings in January. I'm wondering, you call your administration a new era in politics, but you are using similar tactics like Mayor Eric Adams and other mayors in the past. How can New Yorkers trust what you are providing with these estimates, if you were providing an estimate that clearly was going to get updated within two weeks?
Mayor Mamdani: We will always look to share the information that we have directly with New Yorkers. And we had seen the prior city comptroller, the current state comptroller, and the current city comptroller come forward with estimates that our city was facing a fiscal debt of about $12 billion.
And we wanted to be very straightforward with New Yorkers, that from our early assessments of our budget, that our assessments were in line with that of the other controllers. And the city comptroller had actually come forward a few days before our press conference, to say that the numbers continued to be accurate.
And at the time, we were also asked, "What about Wall Street bonuses? What about the increased revenue forecast?" And we said that we would update New Yorkers as those came in. However, we knew that the gap that we were facing was one of such scale that it would not be covered simply by those.
And so, what we have seen in the time since that press conference, is not only the incorporation of the increased economic forecast as well as Wall Street bonuses, but also an aggressive savings plan as well as the use of in-year reserves. I'll just pass it to my budget director, Sherif Soliman, to add.
Sherif Soliman, Director, Mayor's Office of Management and Budget: Thank you, mayor. So, as the mayor said, we had a baseline revenue estimate above the November plan, that we were using to then say that the $12 billion budget gap was in line with what the controllers had put out. Since then, we got some more information vis-à-vis Wall Street bonuses. We had discussions with our counterparts in the state about what they put in their financial plan and what they were seeing in PIT revenue growth. And so, the combination of the additional revenue based primarily on Wall Street bonuses, over a billion in savings, as the mayor noted, and the drawdown of general reserves is how we get from the $12.5 to the $7 [billion].
First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan: In addition, Wall Street bonuses are coming in now. It's not simply—
Question: [Inaudible].
First Deputy Mayor Fuleihan: No, no, no. Wall Street bonuses are happening right through January and February. It's actually only maybe the end of December. So, they're still happening now. There could still be adjustments in the revenue estimates. Both budget offices — both at the state, city, legislative, City Council — they look at these on a daily basis. So that's not unusual to have that change.
Question: And why call it a Great Recession being on par with that when it really wasn't going to be as bad?
Mayor Mamdani: We always look to be factual. We compared it with the Great Recession only because it dwarfs the budget gaps that we saw during the Great Recession. And we also said that we will continue to keep New Yorkers abreast. This $7 billion figure is not just a reflection of updated forecasts. It's also a reflection of the actions we've taken since announcing that first fiscal gap.
Question: Can you talk a little bit more about why [there is] a tax increase on wealthy people, on corporations, remains necessary with these revised figures, given that if things get even better, then maybe the gap can shrink even further?
Mayor Mamdani: We have taken a very aggressive posture in the economic forecast that we are predicting, as well as revenues that we're predicting not just from personal income tax, but also corporate tax [and] sales tax. We do not anticipate that that picture is going to change drastically over the next few months. Now this gap of $7 billion is one that has to be addressed through structural means.
And it is one that we believe, can be addressed not only by increasing taxes on the wealthiest, whether it be New Yorkers who are making a million dollars or more a year or the most profitable corporations, but also by reorienting the city's relationship to the state. That continues to be critical because what we want to do is address these problems in their nature, not simply postpone them to another year.
Question: So, we reported that you are pushing to do a free bus pilot in New York City during the World Cup. I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit about that. And if so, why do you feel like that's a good use of city funds?
Mayor Mamdani: So, we have continued to have conversations about the importance of making buses fast and free. The city has the ability to make buses fast through the changes we can make to the streetscape. The conversations around free continue with the governor and with the legislature.
Question: [Inaudible].
Mayor Mamdani: We continue to have those conversations. That's all I can share at this time.
Question: Now, the $12 billion budget deficit that your administration was predicting just two weeks ago, you guys were calling it, like was mentioned, a fiscal crisis greater than the Great Recession. Do you think, though, by making so many alarm bells about that number, that the $7 billion number, which is still significant, it almost lessens the impact of this?
Mayor Mamdani: I think our job is to be straightforward with New Yorkers. And what we saw is that the current city comptroller had come out just days prior to our press conference to say that these amounts still held in this new calendar year. And we also, while we ask for the partnership of the state, we want to demonstrate that we are very serious about taking every action within our own toolbox to address this deficit. And so, part of how we brought a $12 billion deficit down to $7 billion is also by taking an aggressive posture on savings and ensuring that we were doing everything we could that would then not inhibit the city's ability to deliver quality services.
Question: Do you think by, like, the Governor's Office, for example, looking at this and saying, "Well, they were able to find $5 billion, what's another $7 billion over two years?"
Mayor Mamdani: I think what we are making very clear is that at the time, we knew that there was still much to be determined on the scale of economic forecasts [and] on Wall Street bonuses. There were rumors, there were reports that things would be better than expected, but we can't budget on the basis of a rumor. And now we know the exact level, by and large, of both of these things. We've updated these forecasts, but there will be now the need for us to address them in a structural manner.
[Crosstalk].
Question: You had a lot of Albany-centered goals in your policy platform and your campaign, including lower-profile ones, then taxes and buses — stuff like raising the city's debt limit in order to build more housing — [you] said you would support state legislation to ban non-disclosure agreements, junk fees.
Are any of those on your formal list of asks that you're circulating, or are you focusing more on those sorts of bigger-ticket items? If I could also just quickly ask, do you have any time frame on the property tax bill that you said you're going to put forward?
Mayor Mamdani: So, I'll say that we're having a number of conversations all at once about issues of [the] scale, [both] large and small. The focus at this moment, given the scale of this financial deficit, is addressing the deficit. However, it's not an exclusive focus.
Director Soliman: On the property tax legislation, our hope is that we will have it in a matter of weeks. The goal is to basically model additional runs of different things that we would change on top of the recommendations of the Advisory Commission. And so, we realize that we want to have action in this session, so we're cognizant of that time frame.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: Yes, could you just explain a little bit more, and perhaps for the budget director, I think you said that you were looking at having realized $2.4 billion in additional revenue in FY26 and $4.8 billion in FY27. Can you tell us [if] that [is] accurate? Can you tell us how much of that is coming from personal income taxes, Wall Street bonuses?
Director Soliman: So, yes, that number is accurate in terms of the breakdown of the $7.2 [billion]. We are seeing additional funds in property taxes. I'll just start there. 2026, there were additional funds in property taxes, about another $140 million because of collections that increased. The 2027 tentative roll, we'll see about another $120 or so. Personal income tax is about $4.6 billion of that $7.2 billion.
Question: The deficit has decreased from $12 [billion] to $7 [billion]. Can you make that a full 5?
Mayor Mamdani: So, a lot of these specifics we're going to be releasing in the preliminary plan on February 17th. However, what I can say in a broad manner is that, and I'll have my budget director step in to correct if anything needs to be added, around $3 billion of that reduction has to do with the increased revenue forecast. That's from a combination of broader economic trends as well as Wall Street bonuses. About $1 billion comes from an aggressive savings plan, and then the remainder comes from the use of in-year reserves.
Question: Can you try to quantify where you feel like you might need the needle today? [Inaudible] can you tell us, as you leave Albany today, how full is your Tin Cup? Is it any fuller than you thought? Is it half full?
Mayor Mamdani: You know, as I was leaving today, my wife looked at me and she said, "I'd give you money." It gave me the confidence to make the trip. You know, I can just say that I really do appreciate the – it's a hearing, but in many ways it's a conversation. And what we also saw is legislators not just representing New York City, but also New York State. And there were ideas, there were questions, there were even philosophical conversations that took place.
And I generally do feel that we are all leaving this hearing understanding the scope of and the scale of what New York City is facing and the many options on offer. And I think that we have many weeks, months in this budget process remaining. However, I am encouraged by the way that it is beginning.
Question: With the reduced budget gap and that kind of math, will you continue your maybe full-court press on taxing the wealthiest New Yorkers and corporations, even given Governor Hochul's apprehension to it? And my second question, I guess, speaking of free buses, I think it was the Daily News scoop, I just want to clarify. I know you've spoken about free buses for a bit, but where do express buses fall on this?
I know a lot of their funding comes from the city, but I haven't heard you really ever talk about express buses. They serve a certain population in the city, especially people who live far from other transit. What would that plan be and how does that fit into your eventual free bus plan?
Mayor Mamdani: There was a point at which I was living in Morningside Heights and working in Bay Ridge. And I think it was the X27 or the X28 that would be a real lifeline for me. And absolutely, the vision that we've spoken about when we say making every bus fast and free, that includes every bus, which means also express buses. What I will say is that our focus on this is, one, because of economic relief that it provides to New Yorkers. When the fare was $2.90, one in five New Yorkers couldn't afford it. The public safety benefits, where when we made five buses free, one in each borough, we saw a 38.9 percent decrease in assaults on bus operators.
And we saw that mirrored in Kansas City when they made buses free. And then also the environmental benefits, that when we made this bus pilot a reality in New York City, we saw more than 10 percent of new riders coming from cars they would either be driving or taxis that they would be taking. This is a critical way to address multiple crises all at the same time.
We are going to continue to advocate for a variety of options. We believe that two of them that are the most straightforward and critically important are increased taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and the most profitable corporations, and also speaking about ending the drain, reorienting the relationship between the city and the state.
And I think today we spoke a lot about the larger picture, 54.5 percent of the city being responsible, 54.5 percent of the state's revenue receiving, only 40.5 percent, and then going through specific line items of where the state, under the leadership of the prior governor, had chosen to single New York City out, whether it was around the questions that Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas was asking, or it was around AIM funding. We could see time and time again a different set of rules being made for our city.
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