Mayor Zohran Mamdani calls his property tax increase threat a “last resort” to get the city out of a $5.4 billion budget hole, but in reality, it’s a bluff directed at Albany lawmakers to fulfill his “tax the rich” dream.
“Tax the rich” is not happening in Albany. Gov. Kathy Hochul has said that repeatedly. She isn’t about to go back on her word in an election year. Mamdani may say otherwise, but his property tax threat is a brazen political effort to ratchet up the pressure on Hochul and the Legislature — but it is doomed to fail.
The city budget is an enormous $118 billion; it is larger than almost every state in the Union. In a budget of this size, it is almost insulting that Mamdani would suggest increasing taxes before trimming programs to fill a budget gap that represents only a small percentage (4.6%) of the total budget. And such cuts can and must be found without sacrificing vital programs that New Yorkers rely upon every day.
Instead, Mamdani is pursuing tax increases that threaten to undermine the city’s economic health. A property tax increase, in particular, would be devastating for the middle class, the heart of the city’s economy.
Increasing property taxes would negatively impact every New York City resident (poor, middle class and the wealthy). Most importantly, it would devastate the mayor’s goal of making New York City housing more affordable.
Middle-class property owners face higher maintenance costs, higher utility bills, and higher personal expenses for themselves and their families. Some are landlords of rent-stabilized buildings who will face further income losses from rent freezes that may soon be implemented.
These owners — including those who own condominium or co-op units and single-family homes — pay some of the highest property tax rates in the country, on top of the increased costs of living in New York City.
Any tax increase would give middle-class property owners just one more reason to get out of New York while they can. If you think the city can afford to lose the heart of the middle-class tax base, then go to your nearest search engine and type in “New York City 1970s.” Read about the fiscal crisis that erupted and nearly bankrupted this town as a result of a middle-class exodus from New York years earlier.
Mamdani undoubtedly realizes this, yet he pursues the “last resort” property tax plan anyway, along with the Sisyphean “tax the rich” effort he has in Albany. He has chosen a path of classist and political warfare instead of doing what the people of New York elected him to do: Run New York City, and make it more affordable for everyone.
And we mean everyone — tenants and homeowners, business owners large and small, out-of-towners and life-long residents, regardless of race, creed, color or any other demographic.
This is no time for political bluffs; this is a time for real action. New Yorkers deserve it.
