Mamdani blames 'historic' budget crisis on previous mayor, calls for 'reset' with state government

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and city council speaker Julie Menin (left).

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani admitted on Tuesday that the city is mired in what he described as its worst budget crisis ever, and that he is unable to fix it without a bailout from the state government. 

"New York City faces a budget crisis of historic magnitude," the mayor said at press conference at city hall alongside city council speaker Julie Menin. "We've inherited a deficit larger than any since the Great Recession. Years of mismanagement and chronic under budgeting, alongside a structural imbalance between what New York City sends to the State and what we receive in return, have taken a toll," Mamdani continued, repeating his claims that his predecessor, Eric Adams, dug the hole the city is currently facing.

Adams has shot back at Mamdani, saying he left the city with $8 billion in funds and that his successor's socialist agenda is what's to blame for the worsening problem, according to WNBC. "Free is a lie," Adams has said, referencing Mamdani's campaign promises of free bus rides and free childcare.  

Mamdani went on to suggest the only way out of the crisis is additional taxation for residents of the city and a bailout from the state. "We cannot close this deficit with savings alone. We need new revenue. And we need a structural reset in our relationship with the State. That is the only way to meet our legal obligation to pass a balanced budget and to do so without imposing a financial burden into the backs of working people," the mayor, who is barely 100 days into his term declared. The mayor has also floated a series of new taxes on wealthier New Yorkers, including a heavily criticized pied-a-terre tax. He's also suggested he would target white New Yorkers with additional taxes under his recently unveiled "racial equity plan."

Observers and pundits have had a field day discussing Mamdani's wild-eyed campaign promises colliding with economic realities. Shark Tank star and entrepreneur Kevin O'Leary weighed in on the proposed pied-a-terre tax this week and explained why it could threaten an already reliable source of tax revenue. 

"These people do not live in the city, they do not burden the city with anything because they’re obviously out-of-towners," O'Leary said of those who would be impacted by such a tax, according to The New York Post. "They spend $5 million-plus … not using any of the city’s services, which is what the city needs, less people putting pressure on it. They pay taxes, and they pay maintenance jobs to maintain the buildings.” O'Leary blasted the proposal as "sheer blind stupidity."

Below, watch a clip of Mamdani's remarks on the city budget crisis.