{"id":191306,"date":"2026-04-09T20:16:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T20:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/191306\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T20:16:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T20:16:08","slug":"zohran-mamdanis-grand-plan-to-raid-nycs-rainy-day-fund-could-be-blocked-as-comptroller-makes-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/191306\/","title":{"rendered":"Zohran Mamdani’s grand plan to raid NYC’s rainy day fund could be blocked as comptroller makes move"},"content":{"rendered":"

City Comptroller Mark Levine proposed new rules to set limits on dipping into New York\u2019s \u201crainy day\u201d fund <\/a>\u2014 a move that would block Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s plan to raid the dough to cover a $5.4 billion budget gap.<\/p>\n

The comptroller released a report on Thursday recommending several guidelines for the city\u2019s Revenue Stabilization Fund that would require the account stay at a minimum of 10% of the city\u2019s tax revenues. The rules would also set mandatory deposits and prevent the mayor from withdrawing unless there is a \u201ccompelling fiscal need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow The Post\u2019s live updates for the latest on New York politics, from the city to Albany<\/a><\/p>\n

\"NewMamdani is trying to find the money to cover a $5.4B budget gap. Michael Brochstein\/Zuma \/ SplashNews.com<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York City can\u2019t take a make-it-up-as-we-go approach to preparing for tough times,\u201d Levin said in a statement. \u201cWe need a well-structured rainy-day fund with clear savings goals, consistent rules for deposits and withdrawals, and strong safeguards against political interference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hizzoner has threatened he would sap as much as 50% of the rainy day fund<\/a> and hiking property taxes by nearly 10% to cover the projected budget shortfall \u2014 if Gov. Kathy Hochul and the legislature don\u2019t raise taxes on the wealthy. Hochul said she\u2019d hold the line despite Mamdani\u2019s efforts.<\/p>\n

The fund, which was created in 2020, lacks formal guidelines for deposits and withdrawals unlike similar municipal programs.<\/p>\n

Previous city Comptroller Brad Lander also pitched reforming the funds rules in 2022<\/a>, similarly calling for standardization of deposit and withdrawal conditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Mark Lev Radin\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

The Citizens Budget Commission, which has backed formalizing fund rules in previous years, applauded the effort from the current comptroller.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have long supported the critical elements the Comptroller identifies are needed for a well-designed Fund. We welcome the opportunity to work with him, the Mayor, and the City Council to bolster and codify the budgetary safety net New Yorkers need,\u201d Rein stated.<\/p>\n

A source familiar with the matter confirmed the council is reviewing the proposal.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the start of the budget process, Speaker Menin has been unequivocally opposed to raiding the rainy day fund<\/a>, which should only be done in true emergencies. The Council released its plan identifying responsible savings and re-estimates that eliminate any potential need for withdrawals from the fund,\u201d Menin spokesman Jack Lobel said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The mayor\u2019s office did not respond to a request for comment<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"City Comptroller Mark Levine proposed new rules to set limits on dipping into New York\u2019s \u201crainy day\u201d fund…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":191307,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[8069,7739,57,9,56,63,65,64,58,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-191306","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-brad-lander","9":"tag-budget","10":"tag-metro","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-ny","13":"tag-nyc","14":"tag-nyc-headlines","15":"tag-nyc-news","16":"tag-us-news","17":"tag-zohran-mamdani"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191306","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=191306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191306\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}