STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Assemblymember Charles Fall and state Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton will hold a press conference in West Brighton on Wednesday afternoon to oppose an idea suggested by Mayor Zohran Mamdani that could raise property taxes for city residents.
On Tuesday, Mamdani presented his $127 billion Fiscal Year 2027 Preliminary Budget. In presenting the budget, the mayor explained that the city faces a two-year gap of $5.4 billion.
To bridge that gap, Mamdani said there are two paths forward: either increase personal income taxes on New Yorkers earning more than $1 million annually and taxes on the most profitable corporations, or raise the property tax rate by about 9.5%.
Mamdani called the latter option a “last resort,” but noted that it is the only lever that the city can pull should Albany fail to take action on tax reform.
“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 footing and placing the onus for resolving this crisis on the backs of working and middle-class New Yorkers,” Mamdani said. “We do not want to have to turn to such drastic measures to balance our budget. But, faced with no other choice, we will be forced to.”
Fall and Scarcella-Spanton, both Democrats, oppose raising property taxes on homeowners on Staten Island.
As indicated in a press advisory, the legislators plan on expressing their views on the matter on Wednesday afternoon.
This is a developing story. Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.