Mamdani unveils NYC budget buoyed by state bailout

(The Center Square) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani rolled out a balanced budget Tuesday that closes an estimated $12 billion revenue gap he inherited from previous administrations.

Mamdani said the $127 billion spending plan doesn’t call for raising wholesale taxes or tap into the city’s “rainy day fund” to cover the city’s operating expenses. The budget rollout Tuesday afternoon came hours after Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the state would provide another $4 billion to the city to help it reduce the shortfall, bringing the total pledged state aid to $8 billion over the next two years.

“Many said the only way out of this was slashing services and passing an austerity budget. We rejected that,” Mamdani, a democratic socialist, said Tuesday afternoon. “Our city is now on firm financial ground.”

The budget plan rolled out Tuesday would reduce a personal income tax credit for filers making more than $142,000 a year, but who are also subject to the city’s unincorporated business tax. The move would generate $68 million a...