Progressive council members are trying to insert themselves into the state budget debate to back Mamdani’s tax-the-rich ultimatum
A Budget Battle With National Implications
The budget confrontation between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul has entered a new phase, with progressive members of the New York City Council moving aggressively to make their voices heard in what is formally a state-level debate. Politico New York’s playbook reported on March 5 that both the state Senate and the Assembly plan to formally introduce measures that align with the mayor’s request to tax high-income earners and profitable corporations in New York City — a development that gives Mamdani a legislative vehicle in Albany even as Hochul continues to resist.
The Council’s Role
Council Members aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America — the “Socialists in Office” bloc that includes Chi Ossé, Shahana Hanif, Alexa Aviles, and others — have been among the most vocal institutional backers of Mamdani’s tax agenda. Twenty-two council members signed a joint statement in late February pushing for Albany to give the city authority to enact higher taxes on the wealthy. Council Member Chi Ossé hosted the February 25 rally at Albany’s Washington Avenue Armory that drew over 1,500 activists to pressure the governor. Their intervention reflects a strategic calculation: if council members can demonstrate to state legislators that there is genuine municipal political support — not just mayoral enthusiasm — for progressive taxation, it becomes harder for the governor to dismiss the proposal as a single mayor’s eccentric preference.
Mamdani’s Ultimatum
The mayor’s preliminary budget, released on February 17, presented two paths to closing a $5.4 billion budget gap. The first: Albany authorizes a tax on New York City residents earning more than $1 million annually and on the most profitable corporations operating in the city. The second — described by Mamdani as a “last resort” — would raise property taxes citywide by 9.5 percent, a move that Council Speaker Julie Menin has said “should not be on the table whatsoever.” New polling from Siena College, released March 4, found that 54 percent of New York voters support the wealth tax approach over property tax increases. That number gives Mamdani’s allies something concrete to wave at Albany.
Hochul’s Resistance and Its Limits
Hochul, who is running for reelection in 2026, has said she is “unwavering” in refusing to raise taxes on the wealthy. Her budget director has argued that the state’s progressive tax code, combined with strong Wall Street bonus revenue this year, produces sufficient revenue for her priorities without new taxes. Critics say this framing ignores the structural fiscal imbalance between what New York City generates in tax revenue and what it receives back in state services — an argument Mamdani has been pressing in Albany since his first weeks in office. The Citizens Budget Commission, a fiscally conservative think tank, has raised concerns about the economic impact of additional corporate and wealth taxes on New York City’s competitive position. The Fiscal Policy Institute, which supports progressive taxation, has published analysis showing that high-income earners have not left states that raised their taxes, as some economists predicted. The budget is due by June 30. Between now and then, the fight over who pays for New York City’s future will define the Mamdani administration’s first term.
