By Ryan Schwach
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards wants the state to raise taxes on millionaires and corporations in order to meet the city’s budget deficit and stave off what he says would be catastrophic consequences for the borough caused by the property tax increase threatened by the mayor.
Richards made his thoughts clear to state leaders when he trekked up to Albany on Tuesday for what he described as a Queens-centric “Tin Cup Day.”
He said the impetus for the visit was to push back against property tax increases, which Mayor Zohran Mamdani floated as a “last resort” fix for the city’s budget gap. To prevent the mayor from having to fall back on the plan, Richards demanded lawmakers give more state aid to the city and to Queens.
“We want to make sure Queens is on strong footing,” he told the Eagle the day after his trip north. “We can continue to invest in our parks and our schools in a meaningful way, and our cultural institutions and our hospitals in particular so that we don’t lose footing over the next four years.”
Additionally, Richards said he was “fine with” the millionaires’ tax pitched by Mamdani and his progressive allies, as well as tax increases on the state’s wealthiest corporations. Unlike the proposal’s critics, the BP said he wasn’t worried a tax bump would force wealthy New Yorkers or corporations to flee the Empire State.
“The effective rate is not going to squeeze them out of New York City,” Richards said. “Where are you going? To Kansas?”
In January, Mamdani said the only answers to fill the city’s budget deficit without cutting services were to institute taxes on the state’s wealthiest people and corporations, and for the state to overhaul how much it gives the city in return for the substantial revenue the city sends up the Hudson River.
He said that if the state does not come through, he would have no choice but to raise property taxes by nine percent, an option quickly condemned by Queens officials, including Richards.
“The threat of property taxes certainly has created anxiety amongst Queens communities,” he said.
But while Richards is in defiant opposition to a property tax increase, he felt the only way to prevent it was to pitch an alternative to lawmakers.
“I felt it was incumbent upon us, especially being that we were the first voice to really come out and say no to the property tax increase, to also come up with a solution,” he said.
Richards spoke to leaders in the state legislature, including Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and he said he advocated for the needs of the borough amid budget negotiations.
Richards sits in a unique position. He is both a partner to Mamdani, but also a close ally to Governor Kathy Hochul, who has been hesitant to meet Mamdani on his calls for tax increases or additional state funding.
“I think that the governor is committed,” he said. “And I think the leadership…Carl Heastie…and Senator Cousins, they understand the importance of helping New York City grow and continue to evolve.”
He said he also spoke with members of Queens’ state delegation about inflation and utility costs.
“I felt relatively good coming back that Albany is taking this extremely seriously,” he said.