New York City’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled a $127 billion preliminary budget for 2027, trumpeting almost $9 billion in savings, fresh revenue, and state aid, yet leaving a $5.4 billion hole. The plan pitches higher taxes for millionaires and corporations but, lacking new authority, banks instead on raising property taxes and raiding reserves—though as ever, City Hall would much rather pick pockets at the top than break its own piggy bank.
New York City in brief
Top five stories in the five boroughs today
New York's budget chief, Blake Washington, signaled that Governor Kathy Hochul may water down the state’s ambitious Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, citing sky-high energy transition costs—about $3,000 per resident—as justification. At a Citizens Budget Commission breakfast, he quipped about “own goals” and the need for “honest conversations,” hinting amendments could sneak into budget talks—never underestimate Albany’s fondness for dramatic last-minute plot twists.
A new report from the New York Housing Conference finds that over 43,000 eviction filings last year involved the city’s “affordable” housing—subsidized rents that still outstrip many wallets, thanks to lingering pandemic woes and rising costs. Proposals include $17 million for a diversion court to briskly deliver emergency aid, but with lawmakers allergic to costly fixes, affordability in the Big Apple may remain more slogan than reality.
New York City’s Rube Goldberg property tax system persists, conferring perks on owners of brownstones in Park Slope and tony Manhattan condos while renters and residents in Queens and the Bronx carry heavier loads. Mayor Zohran Mamdani eyes a 9.5% hike to fill a daunting $5.4 billion budget gap—unless Governor Kathy Hochul ups taxes on the wealthy. Reform, as ever, is promised but remains as elusive as a subway train at midnight.
After a 41-day strike, nearly 15,000 New York City nurses—including those at NewYork-Presbyterian, Mount Sinai, and Montefiore—have returned to work, sporting new contracts featuring a 12% raise and premium-free health benefits, plus tweaks on hospital security, staffing, ICE policy, and AI. While the victories are lauded, some nurses grumble that progress came at glacial speed—health care, it seems, abhors a hurry.