January 28, 2026 — Mayor Mamdani’s budget announcement marks a decisive break from the failed austerity politics of the Adams era. At a moment of real fiscal challenge—driven by Eric Adams’ mismanagement and Donald Trump’s destructive federal budget decisions—the Mayor made clear that the projected $12 billion gap in the FY27 city budget is not an excuse to cut the services New Yorkers rely on. Instead, it is a call to govern differently: by cleaning up waste, holding corporate bad actors accountable, and fighting for the resources our city needs to remain affordable and livable.

We welcome the administration’s commitment to exhausting every option to protect essential services and to pressing the state to meet its responsibility. New York City cannot close this gap alone, and meaningful solutions require state action—including taxing the ultra-wealthy and rebalancing the city–state cost share for essential services.

On the city-level, as partners in this work, we look forward to working with the Mayor and City Council to ensure New York City resources the agencies and the offices in city government that enforce the city law on big landlords and corporations and make corporate bad actors pay what they owe—unlocking up to $2 billion in revenue currently being left on the table. Advancing this enforcement-based revenue will be a key priority for the coalition of grassroots organizations and labor unions that make up the People’s Budget campaign.

A budget that protects working-class New Yorkers and confronts corporate abuse is not just good policy—it’s good governance. We look forward to working with the administration and City Council to advance a budget that rejects austerity and invests in care, equity, and affordability for all New Yorkers.