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"Today the Speaker chose not to call the override vote on Intro 175-B — and that is not an accident," said Zara Nasir, Executive Director of The People's Plan NYC, on behalf of the Safety Not Censorship Coalition. "The Speaker and Council Member Dinowitz couldn't call this vote because thousands of New Yorkers made sure they didn't have the votes to win it today. That's what organizing looks like."

"We're relieved to see the deficit closed through state contributions and a pied-à-terre tax on wealthy second home owners. The Mayor and partners at the state level, as well as thousands of New Yorkers and hundreds of organizations and unions, have fought hard to ensure NYC has a stable financial foundation for FY27,” said Zara Nasir, Executive Director of The People’s Plan. “We're proud to see many of our priorities reflected in this executive budget proposal— but as New Yorkers grapple with a historic affordability crisis, our work isn't done."

Governor Kathy Hochul’s continued inaction on taxing the rich will hurt New Yorkers. The City cannot close a $5.4 billion budget gap through cuts and efficiencies alone without harming working-class communities. The math doesn’t work and the Governor’s approach makes clear whose side she’s on. We urge Governor Hochul and state leaders to act now to reduce the PTET credit and go further to tax the rich and ensure the wealthiest corporations and New Yorkers pay their fair share.

“At a time when dissent is under attack nationwide, New York should be protecting free speech, not restricting it,” said Zara Nasir, Executive Director of The People’s Plan NYC, on behalf of the Safety Not Censorship Coalition. “Mayor Mamdani made the right decision by vetoing Intro 175-B. This bill would have given the NYPD sweeping power to suppress protest across the city and would have had a chilling effect on free speech, and put students, immigrants, and communities that are already over-policed more at risk. We now urge City Council members to sustain the veto and vote no to keep our communities safe as they exercise their rights.”

The proposed pied-à-terre tax is a meaningful step toward a fairer tax system and a major win for working-class New Yorkers. It reflects years of organizing to ensure the ultra-wealthy contribute more and is expected to raise roughly $500 million annually toward a budget gap of more than $5 billion. But this alone is not enough. New York needs broader, recurring revenue solutions to fully address the deficit and protect the services New Yorkers rely on. #TaxTheRich

“The Council’s response to the Mayor’s FY27 Preliminary Budget recognizes, in part, the importance of better managing City resources and improving collection of fines and revenue, particularly from corporate actors and delinquent landlords. However, it does not fully grapple with the scale of the challenge ahead, which cannot be addressed without new, recurring state revenue, including taxing the ultra-wealthy."

Yesterday evening, the People’s Budget coalition—alongside more than 40 grassroots organizations, labor partners, and community leaders—launched the “Make ’Em Pay” campaign, a citywide effort to hold corporate bad actors accountable and recover hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid fines and penalties owed to New York City. The launch event, held in Lower Manhattan, brought together over 100 advocates, workers, tenants, and elected officials to call for stronger enforcement and accountability measures as part of the City’s FY27 budget process.