The City Council released a $127 billion alternative budget plan Wednesday that doesn’t raise property taxes, dip into reserves or cut services to make ends meet — a slap-down for Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Instead, the council’s plan claimed that Mamdani’s projected $6 billion budget shortfall could be resolved by a mix of re-estimated revenues, savings and creative new funding sources — such as renting out the Brooklyn Bridge’s hidden rooms.
“We cannot in good conscience fund the City’s needs on the backs of homeowners or renters, by digging into emergency reserves, or by cutting essential programs,” Menin said in a statement.
How The Post told the story of Mamdani’s threatened hike to property taxes. New York Post
“Our response offers a clear alternative to taking those steps, puts the City back on stable footing and invests directly in New Yorkers.”
The new proposal officially puts Menin’s City Council on a collision course with Mamdani as he pushes a “tax the rich” scheme to shore up the city’s shaky finances.
The fresh plan also represents a budgetary disconnect between City Hall and the City Council far deeper than between former Mayor Eric Adams and his no-relation counterpart ex-Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who squabbled over revenue but seldom over actual costs.
Democratic strategist Chris Sosa, a Mamdani ally, said the socialist mayor and Menin are simply not aligned.
“Mayor Mamdani and Speaker Menin have fundamentally different approaches to politics that exist beyond ideology,” he said.
The New York City Council has released an alternative $127 billion budget plan — that aims to close gaps without Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s threatened tax hikes. Stephen Yang for NY Post
“Menin is cautious and builds a lot of risk mitigation into her legislative approach, which includes the budget. That approach is read by the left as protection of a broken status quo. Of a broken status quo that privileges the rich.”
Follow live updates on Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s socialist agenda and the latest in NYC politics
Mamdani’s plan outlined a mind-boggling $5.4 billion deficit that included $1.1 billion in council-backed programs.
Absent Albany’s approval to soak the rich, Mamdani’s plan to close the gap banked on $3.7 billion from a proposed property tax increase and $1.2 billion in reserve draw-downs to balance the books.
But Menin and her council chums argued in their proposal that Mamdani’s plan often overestimated potential expenses, such as how much the state’s payroll mobility tax will cost the city.
Correcting that mistake would save $44 million, the council argued.
The council members contended that instead of tax hikes or reserve use, they found $3.5 billion in revised revenue and spending estimates — such as recognizing higher-than-expected construction permit income and underspending on vacant city positions — along with $2 billion in agency efficiencies.
The council’s plan also identified $529 million in “revenue enhancements,’’ such as renting secret rooms in the Brooklyn Bridge, hiking marina boat parking rates on yachts and peddling city parks as food courts.
The council’s proposal would also restore funding for programs Mamdani stiffed in his preliminary budgeting, including libraries, cultural institutions, CUNY initiatives and legal services for housing and domestic violence victims.
The plan also pushed new investments such expanding Fair Fares to fully subsidize transit for low-income New Yorkers and boosting college savings accounts for public-school students.
“New Yorkers grappling with an affordability crisis should not see a decline in the quality of the services they receive due to a budget dance, and the City Council is committed to fighting to ensure residents receive the investments they deserve,” said council finance Chairwoman Linda Lee.
Mamdani shot back against Menin’s proposal with one of his signature slick videos.
He brushed aside the savings and instead slammed Menin for not groveling for state money.
“The speaker’s $6 billion proposal (in savings) asks Albany for one thing: more time to reduce class size,” he claimed.
“My position: Tax the Rich.”
The mayor also argued the plan would slash billions of dollars from city agencies, forcing service cuts — a contention that rankled many council members.
Mamdani’s fellow travelers with the city’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter slammed Menin online — even before she released the details of the budget.
“Disappointed to see the narrative around ‘cuts’ being pushed,” Councilman Kevin Riley (D-Bronx) fired back on social media.
“In truth, the Council is fighting to maintain and strengthen critical services across the city. Narratives like this are extremely dangerous to that process!”
The council’s official X account posted,“It may be April Fools’ Day, but the Council wasn’t kidding when we said NO CUTS to any services or staff.’’
New York City’s budget negotiations will intensify after Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers finalize the state’s spending plan — whenever that is. State lawmakers passed a deadline extension Tuesday to give them until April 7 to release a plan.
The state budget was due April 1.