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2 hours ago
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is looking to get the Big Apple on a tighter budget, and seems to see cuts to the New York Police Department (NYPD) as a way of getting the city back on track.
Mamdani's predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams, proposed at the end of his term that the city hire 5,000 more NYPD officers. However, upon entering office, Mamdani moved to cancel all orders signed by Adams following his Sept. 26, 2024, indictment. This included the proposed NYPD personnel increase.
Under Adams' plan, the NYPD was set to add 300 officers in July 2026, growing to 2,500 in July 2027 and eventually increasing to 5,000 additional officers annually in July 2028. The Adams plan allowed the NYPD to deploy approximately 40,000 officers to the streets, while Mamdani's plan caps the number closer to its current level of around 35,000.
Additionally, in the preliminary FY 2027 budget, it notes the importance of "significantly reducing current vacancies," which could include reductions in funding for the NYPD based on unfilled positions. The Gothamist, a New York-based publication, noted that Mamdani's budget proposes a $22 million decrease in the NYPD's $6.4 billion budget next year.
On Tuesday, Mamdani told reporters that New York City was in a budget crisis but said that it was something the city "can and will overcome."
Mamdani said during the Tuesday news conference that his administration had "inherited a historic budget gap" and while it had managed to lower the deficit from $12 billion to $5.4 billion, there was still a "significant chasm."
"I know that for those who have watched budget after budget, it is tempting to assume that we are engaging in the same dance as our predecessors. Let me assure you, nothing about this is typical. That's why our solutions won't be either," Mamdani said.
MAMDANI PROPOSES RAISING NYC PROPERTY TAXES IF STATE DOESN'T APPROVE TAX HIKE ON WEALTHY
The mayor suggested that there were two paths to balancing the budget: one that he painted as putting the burden on the wealthy and the other that he classified as drawing from vital resources. He pushed for the state to raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations in order to balance the budget, a stance that was in-line with his campaign statements.
"There are two paths to bridge this gap. The first is the most sustainable and the fairest path. This is the path of ending the drain on our city and raising taxes on the richest New Yorkers and the most profitable corporations," Mamdani said.
"And if we do not go down the first path, the city will be forced down a second, more harmful path. Faced with no other choice, the city would have to exercise the only revenue lever fully within our own control. We would have to raise property taxes. We would also be forced to raid our reserves to balance the budget as required by law," he added.
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani's office for comment.
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