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    North                       The Indian Eye

                              AMERICANNewsline

             14                                                                                                            FEBRUARY 27, 2026
                               NYC Mayor Mamdani

                Releases Balanced Fiscal Year

                           2027 Preliminary Budget

                        Confronting inherited fiscal mismanagement, Mayor outlines two paths

             forward: tax the rich & end the drain — or force working New Yorkers to pay the price

            OUR BUREAU

            NEW YORK, NY
                  YC Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani re-
                   leased the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Prelimi-
            Nnary Budget, outlining the scope of a fiscal
            crisis inherited from the prior Administration and
            presenting two clear paths forward: raise revenue
            from the wealthiest New Yorkers and most prof-
            itable corporations and end the drain of City re-
            sources to the State — or balance the budget on the
            backs of working and middle-class New Yorkers.
               “There are two paths to bridge the city’s inher-
            ited budget gap. The first path is the most sustain-
            able and fairest: raising taxes on the wealthiest and
            corporations, and ending the drain by fixing the im-
            balance between what the City provides the State
            and what we receive in return,” said Mayor Zohran
            Kwame Mamdani. “If we do not go down the first
            path, the City will be forced to go down a second,
            more harmful path of property taxes and raiding
            our reserves — weakening our long-term fiscal foot-
            ing and placing the onus for resolving this crisis on
            the backs of working and middle-class New York-
            ers. We do not want to have to turn to such drastic   in from Governor Kathy Hochul and an additional   ity  fills  underbudgeted  needs.  Roughly  4  percent
            measures to balance our budget. But, faced with no   $97 million in Foundation Aid — the City faced a  – $576 million – supports targeted investments, in-
            other choice, we will be forced to.”          remaining two-year gap of $5.4 billion. The Mam-  cluding: $100 million in FY 2026 for snow removal;
                Upon taking office, the Mamdani Administra-  dani Administration’s preferred solution is recur-  $5 million in FY 2026 for warming centers and shel-
            tion identified a pattern of underbudgeted essential   ring revenue: increasing personal income taxes on   ter connections for homeless New Yorkers; $11.9
            services,  including  rental  assistance,  shelter  oper-  New Yorkers earning more than $1 million annually   million in FY 2027 for new Street Health Outreach
            ations and special education — that widened pro-  and  raising  taxes  on  the  most  profitable  corpora-  & Wellness (SHOW) mobile units and a new Bridge
            jected gaps stated in the November 2025 Financial   tions, while recalibrating the City’s long-imbalanced   to Home site for people living with severe mental
            Plan Update to roughly $12 billion across FY 2026   fiscal relationship with the State.    illness; $5.3 million in FY 2026 and $38 million in
            and FY 2027. To restore transparency and stability,   Absent new revenue authority, the City will be   FY27 for 200 new attorneys and 100 support staff
            the Mamdani Administration launched aggressive   forced to use the only tools currently available to in-  to reduce tort liability and advance affordability ef-
            new savings initiatives, maximized the use of in-  crease revenue and fill this gap: property taxes and   forts; and more than tripling baseline funding for
            year reserves and incorporated updated revenues.   the use of reserves. The $127 billion FY 2027 Prelim-  HRA’s Community Food Connection program with
            Through Executive Order 12, Mayor Mamdani is   inary Budget assumes a 9.5 percent property tax rate   an addition of $54 million in FY 2027. The Prelim-
            requiring every city agency to designate a Chief Sav-  increase — generating $3.7 billion in FY 2027. The   inary Five-Year Capital Plan totals $113 billion in
            ings Officer (CSO) to identify recurring efficiencies.   City also applied $980 million from the city’s Rainy   all-funds and includes $662 million in FY 2027 to
            These savings initiatives are projected to save $1.77   Day Reserve Fund in FY 2026 and $229 million   modernize and preserve more than 3,200 affordable
            billion across the two fiscal years.          from the Retiree Health Benefit Trust in FY 2027   housing units and $48.2 million starting in FY 2027

                After applying savings, revenue adjustments   in order to balance the budget as legally required.  to fully fund the renovation and expansion of Bel-

            driven by an upward revision of $7.3 billion in tax   Of $14 billion in city-funded agency expense   levue’s Adult Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergen-
            revenue, and State support — including $1.5 billion   changes across the two fiscal years, the vast major-  cy Program.

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