Mayor argues city sends $20 billion more to state than it receives back annually
At the heart of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s budget pitch to state lawmakers lies a provocative claim: that New York City, the economic engine of New York State, has been systematically deprived of resources it deserves, and that Cuomo-era policies created a structural deficit in state-city relations that requires immediate correction. Mamdani argued during his February 11 Albany testimony that the city contributes 54.5% of state tax revenue but receives only 40.5% in state spending, a $20 billion annual imbalance according to city calculations.
The Cuomo Blame Game
Rather than attacking Governor Kathy Hochul, with whom he maintains a delicate alliance, Mamdani directed his critique at his former mayoral primary opponent and ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo, arguing that policies established under Cuomo’s administration created lasting damage to the city’s fiscal position. Mamdani specifically pointed to Cuomo’s 2011 cuts to the city’s juvenile justice system and special education funding, a 2014 state law requiring the city to pay $75 million annually to rent space for charter schools, and repeated decisions diverting money from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to the state’s general fund.
The AIM Program Exclusion
Mamdani’s team has also highlighted the state’s 2010 decision to cut New York City out of an aid program that had previously sent it about $244 million annually. The Aid and Incentives for Municipalities program had historically sent money to struggling communities, but the city was excluded with justification that it relied less heavily on such aid compared to smaller communities. Today that same program distributes more than $700 million annually to all cities except New York, according to state budget data.
Factual Disputes and Defenses
Former Governor Cuomo’s spokesperson Rich Azzopardi disputed Mamdani’s characterization, accusing the mayor of padding numbers by counting city-based workers rather than city residents toward the city’s tax contributions. Azzopardi claimed Mamdani was lying through his teeth about the severity of the imbalance. However, defenders of Cuomo also acknowledged certain beneficial policies, including Cuomo’s 2015 decision to freeze local government contributions to Medicaid, a move that has saved the city upward of $1 billion each year since its implementation, according to the Citizens Budget Commission.
Bill de Blasio’s Agreement
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who famously battled Cuomo for much of his tenure, told New York Focus that he agrees completely with Mamdani’s framing. De Blasio pointed to Cuomo’s 2011 budget, which slashed $65 million in funding for a rental voucher program called Advantage, a move that advocates have blamed for exacerbating the city’s homelessness crisis. De Blasio said that when the city was cut, it was not part of socialist redistribution to rural communities, but rather about political calculation.
Restoring Resources
State Senator Michael Gianaris, deputy majority leader of the state Senate and a key Mamdani ally in Albany, has suggested that restoring AIM funding to the city could be a way to meet the mayor’s demands for state investment. Gianaris stated it seems only fair to treat the state’s largest city equitably as it relates to state support.
Hochul’s Response
Governor Hochul has increased state spending to the city significantly during her tenure, pointing to more than $6 billion in additional state support since she took office and an increase of more than 33 percent in total state funding to the city. However, Mamdani continues to argue that these increases, while welcome, do not address the fundamental structural imbalance that requires addressing the core disparity in contributions versus returns.
