New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said the city is facing a dire budget crisis, but his proposed fix is causing an uproar.

The mayor said there are essentially two options to solve the problem: One is to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers, but there have been no signs Gov. Kathy Hochul is willing to budge on her opposition to that plan.

The other option Mamdani has posited would be to raise property taxes in NYC by 9.5%.

“What we are hoping for, we will spend every day looking towards, is working with Albany to increase taxes on the wealthiest and the most profitable corporations, such that a fiscal crisis is not resolved on the backs of working in middle class New York,” Mamdani said earlier in the week.

The mayor does not have the authority to raise property taxes without the approval of City Council, and earlier in the week, Council Speaker Julie Menin said that is not on the table.

But hypothetically, if the property tax were to become law — what would it mean for New Yorkers’ wallets? Here are a few examples that may help explain the impact it would have.

Example 1

A homeowner in Brooklyn pays just under $8,000 a year in property taxes. A 9.5% increase would add $63 a month to their bill.

In other terms, that would add 15 extra coffees every month to the budget. Over the span of a year, it would add up to about $760.

Example 2

Someone owns a co-op in Queens and pays about $2,255 a month in total, including maintenance. Part of that maintenance bill goes towards paying property taxes.

If the maintenance fees are around $988, the property tax could go up $93 a month. Over the course of a year, that would be $1,126 more.

Example 3

While the previous two examples involved property owners, the tax would also have impacts for NYC renters as well.

Anyone who pays rent in the five boroughs, part of that rent includes all the costs that the landlord has — which includes property taxes. So when it comes time for leases to be renewed, renters would need to be prepared for any potential property tax increase to be added to the monthly rent.

That would mean if the monthly rent is $3,000, a 9.5% tax increase could mean rent would go up to $3,285. That number wouldn’t include any other additional costs factored into rent as well.