{"id":115426,"date":"2026-01-28T19:21:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T19:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/115426\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T19:21:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T19:21:08","slug":"with-nyc-facing-12b-budget-hole-mayor-blames-adams-for-mismanaging-citys-finances-amnewyork","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/115426\/","title":{"rendered":"With NYC facing $12B budget hole, mayor blames Adams for mismanaging city\u2019s finances \u2013 amNewYork"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wednesday, Jan. 28, marked the 28th day of Zohran Mamdani\u2019s term as mayor<\/a>. amNewYork is following Mamdani around his first 100 days in office as we closely track his progress on fulfilling campaign promises, appointing key leaders to government posts, and managing the city\u2019s finances. Here\u2019s a summary of what the mayor did today.<\/p>\n

Mayor Zohran Mamdani opened his first budget season Wednesday by accusing his predecessor of fiscal \u201cnegligence\u201d that blew a $12 billion hole in city finances \u2014 but stopped short of saying which services, contracts, or agencies could be on the chopping block in the weeks ahead.<\/p>\n

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Mamdani said the scale of the city\u2019s budget gap is far larger than previously disclosed and blamed former Mayor Eric Adams for deliberately underbudgeting recurring costs to make his final financial plans appear balanced.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The mayor\u2019s remarks followed a recent analysis by City Comptroller Mark Levine,<\/a> who warned that the city faces multibillion-dollar gaps in the coming fiscal years, driven largely by expenses that were never fully funded in prior budgets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis crisis has a name,\u201d Mamdani said, calling it the \u201cAdams budget crisis,\u201d and accusing the former mayor of choosing \u201cpolitical self-preservation over fiscal responsibility.\u201d He argued that Adams knowingly understated expenses so he could claim fiscal year 2026 was balanced, leaving behind what Mamdani described as a $3 billion hole in that year alone.<\/p>\n

While the comptroller\u2019s report laid out the numbers in technical terms, Mamdani used the opening of the press conference to place them in a broader political and historical context. He said his administration\u2019s early internal review aligns with the comptroller\u2019s findings, showing projected budget gaps roughly double those the Adams administration had published year after year. Mamdani repeatedly emphasized that the deficits now facing the city are larger than those seen during the Great Recession and more than 300% higher than the average gaps in the decade before the pandemic.<\/p>\n

For example, Mamdani said the prior administration budgeted $860 million for cash assistance this fiscal year, while current estimates are closer to $1.6 billion. Shelter spending was budgeted at $1.47 billion, he said, but now appears to be at least $500 million higher. He also cited chronic underfunding of rental assistance and special education, calling those services \u201ccritical responsibilities of city government, not optional programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani lays blame at Cuomo\u2019s feet, too
\n\"\"Mamdani cited prior reporting from amNY and other outlets about outside concerns late last year over the city\u2019s fiscal outlook. (Screenshot)<\/p>\n

Mamdani also widened his critique beyond City Hall, blaming a long-running fiscal imbalance between the city and the state that he said dates back largely to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo\u2019s tenure. According to the mayor, New York City generates roughly 54.5% of state revenue but receives about 40% of state spending, amounting to an estimated $8 billion annual shortfall.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn fiscal year 2022 alone, the city sent $68.8 billion to Albany and got back $47.6 billion,\u201d Mamdani said, describing the difference as a \u201c$21 billion chasm\u201d that has left the city struggling to fund schools, parks, and social services.<\/p>\n

Despite repeatedly describing the situation as a fiscal emergency, Mamdani declined to outline specific cuts his administration is considering as it prepares a legally required balanced preliminary budget, due Feb. 17.\u00a0<\/p>\n

amNewYork has reached out to a representative for Adams, and is awaiting a response.\n<\/p>\n

Rich Azzopardi, spokesperson for Cuomo, suggested that Mamdani lacked \u201ca basic command of the facts,\u201d noting that the former governor had increased state aid to the city\u2019s public schools 68%, and that the state \u201cabsorbed billions in New York City Medicaid cost increases.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cZohran Mamdani needs to learn that being an executive is more than cosplaying in a custom designer made windbreaker,\u201d Azzopardi said. \u201cAndrew Cuomo inherited an $11 billion deficit when he first took office and managed to close it through hard work and fiscal discipline \u2013 words that just aren\u2019t in Mamdani\u2019s vocabulary. He also hasn\u2019t been governor for the last five years, the exact amount of time that Mamdani, as a state legislator, was in a position to correct any perceived inequalities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

No specifics yet<\/p>\n

Pressed by reporters on whether agency-wide cuts, hiring freezes, or vacancy sweeps were on the table, Mamdani rejected those approaches, drawing a distinction between finding efficiencies and imposing austerity.<\/p>\n

\u201cA $12 billion fiscal deficit cannot be resolved through efficiencies and savings alone,\u201d he said, adding that his administration would not balance the budget \u201con the backs of working New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani said his team is reviewing \u201cevery single dollar that the city spends,\u201d citing as one small example a $500,000 chatbot launched under the prior administration that he described as largely unusable. After the launch of the MyCity chatbot, it was found to be giving business owners incorrect answers or advice that would potentially break the law, according to reports.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Mamdani acknowledged that eliminating such expenses would not close the gap but said they point to broader patterns of mismanagement.\n<\/p>\n

When asked about stronger-than-expected Wall Street bonuses and income tax receipts,<\/a>\u00a0Mamdani said he was encouraged by the reports but cautioned they would not materially change the city\u2019s fiscal outlook.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe scale of this deficit is such that it will not be covered no matter what the news is,\u201d he said, adding that structural solutions would still be required.<\/p>\n

Those solutions, Mamdani said, include raising income taxes on the city\u2019s wealthiest residents and increasing taxes on the most profitable corporations \u2014 proposals that would require approval from state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has previously expressed resistance to tax hikes. <\/p>\n

Mamdani said he has had \u201cencouraging\u201d conversations with Hochul and legislative leaders, but acknowledged that securing Albany\u2019s support will be critical.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to play budget games,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to be honest with New Yorkers about the true cost of city services \u2014 and what it will take to protect them.\u201d<\/p>\n

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli commended Mayor Mamdani \u201cfor speaking plainly about these stark fiscal realities,\u201d but warned that even as revenues are projected to come in above plan this year, spending is likely to exceed revenues for the fourth consecutive year \u2014 a trend DiNapoli called \u201ctroubling\u201d and one that underscores the need for careful, defensive fiscal planning, particualry in the face of uncertainties in federal funding.<\/p>\n

He highlighted areas where gaps could emerge if costs are not fully accounted for, including rental and public assistance, non-asylum homeless shelter costs, childcare vouchers, and foster care programs. Education-related expenses, such as due-process cases, class-size mandates, and school cleaning, as well as citywide operational costs, including overtime, MTA subsidies, and health insurance, pose significant risks, his office says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs federal and state budgets take shape, the city must fully budget for the fiscal risks, present contingency scenarios, identify cost efficiencies, and grow reserves as it finalizes its budget,\u201d DiNapoli said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Wednesday, Jan. 28, marked the 28th day of Zohran Mamdani\u2019s term as mayor. amNewYork is following Mamdani around…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115427,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[41614,80,49446,49768,81,42784,51197,1445,51198,9,47790,2695,56,63,51199,65,64,49454,51200,10115,82],"class_list":["post-115426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-albany-relations","tag-andrew-cuomo","tag-city-finances","tag-city-hall-politics","tag-eric-adams","tag-first-100-days","tag-fiscal-deficit","tag-mamdani","tag-mark-levine-comptroller","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city-budget","tag-new-york-city-mayor","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-budget-crisis","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-public-services-funding","tag-state-and-city-funding","tag-tax-policy","tag-zohran-mamdani"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}