Their relationship is spinning out of control.<\/p>\n
A four-year extension of Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s control over city schools could be in jeopardy as tensions rise with Gov. Kathy Hochul, insiders revealed.<\/p>\n
Mayoral control over schools<\/a> could be reduced to two years or dropped altogether, according to four sources close to the talks.<\/p>\n A four-year extension of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s control over city schools could be in jeopardy as state budget negotiations race towards a finish over the next two weeks. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n The rumored change came as Mamdani last week tried to squeeze more dough<\/a> out of Albany, effectively refusing to accept several victories that an increasingly peeved Hochul handed him in his quest to close the city\u2019s projected $5.4 billion budget shortfall.<\/p>\n \u201cShe holds the cards. She has the tools. What Mamdani doesn\u2019t understand is that the city is a ward of the state and the governor has ultimate control over what the city does,\u201d longtime Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf told The Post.<\/p>\n Since 2002, New York City\u2019s public schools have been under mayoral control \u2013 which gives direct responsibility over the schools to the mayor instead of an often slow-to-act school board.<\/p>\n Hochul had proposed to extend mayoral control by four years in her spending plan, but insiders said a shorter span has become an option as talks over the state\u2019s $263 billion budget drag on between the governor and lawmakers.<\/p>\n Whether Hochul pushed the change remained unclear, but it comes as Mamdani unrelentingly presses Albany for more cash.<\/p>\n A source with knowledge said Hochul was upset after Mamdani reached a deal with Council Speaker Julie Menin to not only delay the city\u2019s budget deadline to mid-May, then joined forces to push the state to cut down a tax credit in hopes of raising about $1 billion in revenue.\u00a0<\/p>\n NYC Mayor Mamdani joined by a group of District 2 Pre-K students while announcing the city\u2019s free childcare. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s crystal clear that we already have helped them,\u201d Hochul said in response last week.<\/p>\n A Democratic source didn\u2019t know whether the proposed mayoral control rollback came from Hochul, but said the governor is clearly fuming.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s pissed. She was not happy over the weekend,\u201d the source said. \u201c(Mamdani) was supposed to get her all these things and he\u2019s been dragging his feet.\u201d<\/p>\n Follow live updates on Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s socialist agenda and the latest in NYC politics<\/a><\/p>\n Another New York City Democrat with knowledge of budget talks bet that the proposed mayoral control rollback came from Hochul.<\/p>\n \u201cI think she\u2019s really angry at him, because I think she doesn\u2019t like being blamed for the fact that they are late, and he hasn\u2019t made any progress on savings,\u201d the Dem said.<\/p>\n \u201cMayoral control has been used in the past as a carrot and a stick, and if someone is not behaving then it is taken away. I think she is angry at him for how everything is portrayed, threatening property taxes increase and taxing the rich.\u201d<\/p>\n Governor Kathy Hochul highlights her 2026 auto insurance proposals and the catastrophic impact of tariffs on New Yorkers. Mike Groll\/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul<\/p>\n Past Hizzoners had to regularly kowtow to Albany as they sought extensions for mayoral control.<\/p>\n Ex-Mayor Eric Adams successively begged Albany in 2024<\/a> to grant him an extension of mayoral control, though the issue had remained subdued in this year\u2019s budget talks until recently.<\/p>\n