{"id":136470,"date":"2026-02-17T19:37:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T19:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/136470\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T19:37:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T19:37:08","slug":"bruce-blakeman-rips-ny-gov-kathy-hochul-for-1-5b-zohran-mamdani-budget-bailout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/136470\/","title":{"rendered":"Bruce Blakeman rips NY Gov. Kathy Hochul for $1.5B Zohran Mamdani budget ‘bailout’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Republican gubernatorial nominee Bruce Blakeman slammed Gov. Kathy Hochul Tuesday for delivering $1.5 billion in state funds to help bail out New York City<\/a> as it confronts a budget shortfall under new Mayor Zohran Mamdani.<\/p>\n

That money should instead be used to reduce school taxes across the Empire State, said the Nassau County executive \u2014 as he accused Hochul of being beholden to Democratic socialist Mamdani, who recently endorsed her re-election bid.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe timing says it all: Kathy Hochul gets Zohran Mamdani\u2019s endorsement, and then New York City gets billions more in taxpayer dollars to pay for Mamdani\u2019s migrant program and other wasteful spending,\u201d Blakeman said.<\/p>\n

GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman blasted Gov. Kathy Hochul for funneling $1.5 billion to New York City in a partial bailout. Dennis A. Clark for NY Post<\/p>\n

Follow live updates on Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s socialist agenda and the latest in NYC politics<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cNew Yorkers deserve leadership that respects every community,\u201d he said. \u201cI will be a governor for all \u2014 not just for Zohran Mamdani.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the city\u2019s projected deficit over the next two years dropping from $12 billion to $7 billion<\/a> \u2014 Hochul was set to deliver $1 billion in this fiscal year and another $510 million next year in state funding relief to the city, Blakeman noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cKathy Hochul is happily handing billions to New York City while suburban and upstate taxpayers struggle to pay their bills,\u201d said Blakeman.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Albany truly has a $1.5 billion surplus \u2014 or if the governor simply has that much money just laying around \u2014 that money should be used to cut school taxes for hard-working New Yorkers, not parked in a bailout that rewards fiscal mismanagement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blakeman pointed to other recent Hochul commitments that benefit New York City disproportionately, including increased support for child care <\/a>and voucher programs that cost nearly $1.8 billion statewide annually, with the lion\u2019s share being spent in the five boroughs.<\/p>\n

He also highlighted the ongoing costs associated with the Big Apple\u2019s role as a so-called sanctuary city, saying funds dedicated to services for asylum seekers were expected to total more than $6 billion over multi-years.<\/p>\n

Blakeman accused Hochul for delivering funds to New York City in exchange for Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s endorsement. Paul Martinka for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy should someone on Long Island, the Hudson Valley, or Western New York be asked to pay for policies and programs that don\u2019t benefit their communities?\u201d Blakeman asked.<\/p>\n

Hochul\u2019s campaign ripped Blakeman as an out of touch toadie of President Trump.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cNew Yorkers have seen Governor Kathy Hochul cut middle-class taxes, put money directly back in their pockets through inflation refund checks, and expand affordable childcare \u2013 but Bruce Blakeman is against all of that,\u201d said Hochul campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll New Yorkers get from Bruce Blakeman is cheerleading for Trump\u2019s agenda, including his tariffs that make groceries more expensive, squeeze farmers, and push small businesses to the brink. That\u2019s the choice in this race, and it\u2019s why \u2018100% MAGA\u2019 Bruce will never be governor,\u201d the Hochul rep said.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve also been linking Hochul and other Democratic opponents to Mamdani, who is far less popular in the burbs and upstate than in the Big Apple.<\/p>\n

Suburban Republican and upstate complaints about Albany funneling billions of dollars to New York City is a longtime strategic campaign tactic.<\/p>\n

Political strategists claim Hochul\u2019s partial city bailout was aimed at taking steam out of Mamdani and the progressive left\u2019s push for Albany to raise income taxes on the rich and corporations to balance the city budget. <\/a><\/p>\n

Hochul opposes raising taxes as she faces the voters this fall.<\/p>\n

The governor\u2019s office said the state will now pick up the tab for some initiatives that had costs shifted to the city, including $300 million for youth violence programs and another $60 million for public health.<\/p>\n

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has proposed a $127 billion city budget despite. New York Post<\/p>\n

Hochul defended the partial bailout in a joint press release with the mayor on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cA strong New York City means a stronger New York state. This investment protects services and puts the city on stable financial footing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Yorkers expect the state and the city to work together, and I\u2019m proud to partner with the mayor to deliver for working families.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Republican gubernatorial nominee Bruce Blakeman slammed Gov. Kathy Hochul Tuesday for delivering $1.5 billion in state funds to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":136471,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1626,14927,426,57,9,11,10,49,51,50,13895,4281,58,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-136470","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-bruce-blakeman","9":"tag-city-budget","10":"tag-kathy-hochul","11":"tag-metro","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-new-york-headlines","14":"tag-new-york-news","15":"tag-new-york-state","16":"tag-new-york-state-headlines","17":"tag-new-york-state-news","18":"tag-ny-governor-election-2026","19":"tag-state-budget","20":"tag-us-news","21":"tag-zohran-mamdani"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136470","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=136470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}