(The Center Square) — New York Republican lawmakers are urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to drop her controversial plans to give New York City $1.5 billion to help reduce its budget shortfall.
In a letter to Hochul, Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt and other members of the Legislature’s Republican minority caucus call on the governor to scrap her plan to help New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani offset the impact of a projected $5.4 billion revenue gap over the next two years.
“This bailout is unfair to the rest of the state, and we strongly urge you not to move forward with it,” the GOP lawmakers wrote. “Hardworking families across New York should not be forced to subsidize fiscal mismanagement in New York City. New York City does not have a revenue problem; it has a spending problem.”
As part of her budget plan for next fiscal year, Hochul pledged the $1.5 billion to Mamdani to help his new administration plug budget gaps over the next two years.
The new funding will be provided over the next two years, according to the Hochul administration. It includes $510 million to cover expenses the state used to pay for public health and youth programs, but has shifted onto the city. The other $500 million in new funding will be targeted to “shared priorities,” officials said.
The governor has previously committed $1.7 billion to Mamdani to provide free care for 2-year-olds in New York City as part of broader efforts to expand universal child care statewide.
Mamdani, who filed his preliminary $127 billion budget last week, said the additional state assistance is needed to whittle down a $5.4 billion deficit next year. He has also threatened to increase property taxes across the board in New York City unless Albany lawmakers approve his controversial plan to increase taxes on the city’s top earners and corporations.
But Ortt and other GOP lawmakers said New York City is facing a deficit because of the “poor decisions” by the city’s largely Democratic leadership, such as “prioritizing undocumented immigrants” over “hard-working New Yorkers.”
Over the past decade, the city’s budget has swelled more than $41 billion, a 54% increase, the lawmakers wrote. During the same period, NYC tax revenues have grown significantly, from approximately $54.7 billion in 2015 to $83 billion in 2026, they noted.
Meanwhile, New York state is facing a projected budget deficit of more than $10 billion in the next fiscal year, with revenue gaps widened by federal cuts and funding freezes.
“Providing a bailout will only reward irresponsible behavior, which will lead to more bad behavior in the future,” the GOP lawmakers wrote. “New York City needs to show fiscal restraint; a S1.5 billion bailout will only lead to more reckless spending.”
