Zohran Mamdani Unveils $124.7 Billion Budget, Seeks Albany Delay On Class Size Mandate

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled a balanced $124.7 billion executive budget on Tuesday, saying it closed a $12 billion gap he described as inherited and brought the remaining deficit down to zero without drawing down reserves, increasing property taxes, or cutting into service delivery.

“New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled a new budget that taxes the rich, forgoes a property tax hike, and depends on the generosity of Gov”

CBS News

Mamdani said the plan hinges on a delay on city pension payments and on state support from Gov. Kathy Hochul, including $1.4 billion in fresh funding for city programs over this fiscal year and the one beginning July 1.

CBS News

Hochul said in a statement that the aid would make “free universal child care a reality,” while Mamdani said, “Through new revenues, savings and a renewed partnership with the state, we pulled New York City back from an existential fiscal brink.”

Chalkbeat reported that Mamdani asked Albany to extend the deadline to meet the state mandate to reduce class sizes, and his preliminary budget in February included $543 million anticipating a hiring spree of about 6,000 teachers before his executive proposal earmarked $122 million to hire 1,000 educators.

The class-size law Mamdani sought to delay caps classrooms at 20 to 25 students depending on the grade level, and State Sen. John Liu told Chalkbeat that he expects the legislature to tweak the policy so the state would mandate 70% compliance instead of 80%.

Even as the budget gap was filled, Politico reported that the executive plan is still shored up by short-term measures and payment deferrals that have made budget watchdogs uneasy about the city’s long-term fiscal health.

Andrew Rein, president of the Citizens Budget Commission, criticized the pension contribution delay, saying, “We have to solve this budget gap today, and basically by stretching out pension payments we’re asking people in the mid-2030s to solve the 2027 budget gap, and that’s simply not fair.”

Chalkbeat

Rein added that the approach would ask people who do not even live in the city to help balance the budget now, and the article tied the criticism to Hochul’s state approval allowing Mamdani to delay pension payments.

Patch described Mamdani’s approach as ordering city agencies to slash spending and said the administration identified $1.47 billion in savings over two years after directing agencies to appoint chief savings officers and reduce inefficiencies including consulting contracts, leases, software spending and overtime.

Patch also said the city would seek a delay in full implementation of the state class size mandate, projected to save $500 million in the next fiscal year, while Mamdani said, “Smaller class sizes are better for our children and better for our educators.”

Mamdani’s budget narrative also centers on education spending and special education costs, with Chalkbeat reporting that the city’s Education Department spends well over $1 billion—about $1 out of every $40 in its budget—on private special education services.

“Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday said he’d managed to balance the city’s budget, in part by reducing spending on education and a housing voucher program by $1”

Gothamist

Chalkbeat said Mamdani vowed to address the ballooning costs “head on,” and the plan includes $67 million next year in new funding for preschool special education plus $86 million to shore up the city’s ability to provide services directly rather than relying on private providers.

The budget package also includes new revenue measures tied to wealthy homeowners, with Politico reporting a new tax on wealthy homeowners and Mamdani’s executive budget penciling in $500 million in annual revenue from a yet-to-be-finalized pied-à-terre tax on pricey properties contingent on state permission.

NBC New York reported that Hochul introduced a pied-à-terre tax that would generate an estimated $500 million a year and said the boost in state funding and the pied-à-terre tax allowed Mamdani to scrap controversial plans to raise property taxes on NYC homeowners.

Gothamist reported that the city would delay implementation of a law requiring lower headcounts in public school classrooms and would reduce spending on private tuition for students with disabilities, while the Citizen’s Budget Commission criticized the executive budget for closing over half of the gap with short-term strategies rather than shrinking spending that doesn’t deliver for New Yorkers.