Members of the New York state Senate Republican conference sent a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday, urging her to reverse her move to give $1.5 billion in state funding to New York City to improve its financial standing.
The GOP argued the move is unfair to the rest of the state.
“Hardworking families across New York should not be forced to subsidize fiscal mismanagement in New York City,” the letter reads. “Over the past several years NYC officials made costly policy decisions, such as providing housing and healthcare to undocumented migrants, that cost the city nearly $10 billion, including another $1.2 billion next year. The fiscal deficit New York City now faces is the direct result of poor decisions by New York City officials, such as prioritizing undocumented migrants ahead of hardworking New Yorkers.”
Budget sources told Spectrum News 1 the amount will be broken up into $1 billion next year and $510 million in the 2027-2028 fiscal year.
“A strong New York City means a stronger New York State. This investment protects services and puts the city on stable financial footing,” Hochul said during her announcement of the funds last week.
Senate Republicans said the city’s budget has swelled in recent years and compared its fiscal year 2026 budget of $115.9 billion to the whole state of Florida’s $117 billion budget the same year.
“Providing a bailout will only reward irresponsible behavior, which will lead to more bad behavior in the future. This is evidenced by Mayor Mamdani’s most recent budget plan of $127 billion, a $10 billion increase, which the mayor has threatened to pay for by increasing New York City’s property taxes if the Governor and state legislature do not increase the state’s personal income tax and corporate tax, which are already among the highest in the nation,” the GOP leader reads.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said New York City needs $7 billion to close its budget gap.
The $1.5 billion grant still needs to be approved by the state Legislature.