Back in Albany, Mamdani says ‘tax the rich’

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s second trip to Albany this week sounded a lot like his first – including a call to tax the rich.

Mamdani appeared before a packed room in the Legislative Office Building in Albany Saturday at the 55th annual conference of the New York State Association of Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislators, better known as Caucus Weekend. At a forum alongside mayors from across the state, Mamdani’s message echoed his testimony Wednesday at Tin Cup Day, where he spotlighted the city’s budget deficit.

He explained that his administration has inherited “the greatest fiscal crisis we’ve seen since before the Great Recession,” referencing what he said is the city’s $7 billion gap to close – a gap that he’d said was $12.6 billion just two weeks earlier, before making revisions.

Mamdani said one way to address this would be taxing the rich. “I'll always say, I believe the state should increase taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers,” he said, garnering cheers and applause from the audience.

Mamdani campaigned on raising taxes on corporations in the city and a 2% increase on income tax for city residents making over $1 million, but he needs the state government to authorize the hikes. The mayor’s comments came after The New York Times reported Mamdani is planning to skip a Feb. 25 tax the rich rally in Albany, out of deference to Gov. Kathy Hochul, who’s firmly opposed to raising taxes as she seeks reelection.

Mamdani has stayed close to the governor and endorsed her for reelection, and it isn’t clear just how hard he’ll push to raise taxes in this year’s state budget. To that end, Mamdani said another proposal for addressing the city’s budget gap was improving the relationship between the city and the state.

“We are looking for a partnership with the state in making sure the city can be on a firm financial [footing] because we know that working people did not create this crisis,” Mamdani said. “So I'm looking forward to a new era, a new relationship between the city and the state, not one of pettiness that we've seen for so long.”

Mamdani also spoke on the housing crisis and threats from the federal government including ICE detainments before departing early from the panel to head back to New York City. Before the panel, he delivered remarks at luncheons for CUNY, Harlem seniors and labor unions. 

Although Saturday was his first appearance at Caucus Weekend as mayor, Mamdani is not a stranger to the conference. He was a member of the association during his tenure as an Assembly member for western Queens, and is friendly with many of his former colleagues. The mayor called hirsute Assembly Member Brian Cunningham “an inspiration for many, especially if you want to know how to grow the best beard in the conference.”