Socialist Mamdani’s tax assault on NYC’s rich begins — claims Adams forced his hand with fiscal crisis

New York City's newly inaugurated mayor, Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, revealed plans to increase taxes on "the richest New Yorkers" less than one month into his term, blaming former Mayor Eric Adams (D) for a budget shortfall.

On Thursday, Mamdani held a press conference to detail the "Adams Budget Crisis," claiming that the former mayor "misled and misinformed" New Yorkers about the "true state" of the city's finances.

'And here's the part socialists hate saying out loud: "Free" is a lie.'

"I will be blunt: New York City is facing a serious fiscal crisis. There is a massive fiscal deficit in our city's budget to the tune of at least $12 billion. We did not arrive at this place by accident. This crisis has a name and a chief architect," Mamdani said.

"This is the Adams Budget Crisis."

He accused Adams of handing the new administration "a poisoned chalice" by "systematically" under-budgeting necessary services, including rental assistance, shelter, and special education.

"Knowing his time in office was likely coming to an end, Mayor Adams chose political self-preservation over fiscal responsibility. This is not just bad governance. It is negligence," Mamdani remarked.

"The Adams administration dramatically and intentionally understated the problem."

Mamdani vowed to balance the budget over two fiscal years by implementing "bold solutions," including "recalibrating the broken fiscal relationship between the state and the city." He argued that New York City contributes 54.5% of the state's revenue but receives only 40.5% of its operating expenditures.

RELATED: 'Proud to be a sanctuary city': Mamdani announces another handout for illegal aliens in NYC

Zohran Mamdani. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

"Working people did not cause this crisis, and they cannot be made the victims of its solution," Mamdani stated.

"The time has come to tax the richest New Yorkers and most profitable corporations," he declared.

Mamdani stated that he could "build a stronger city for everyone" if New York's top 1% earners paid an additional 2% in income taxes, while claiming that the increase was not significant enough to drive wealthy individuals to leave the state.

RELATED: 'Tax them to the white meat!' Mamdani's new 'equity officer' posted now-deleted X posts against white women.

Eric Adams. Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

Adams fired back at Mamdani in several posts on X, denying that he left a deficit in the city's budget.

"Facts have a way of getting in the way when slogans replace math and blame replaces leadership," Adams wrote. "I didn't leave a 'budget hole.' I left over $8 BILLION in reserves. Only someone who can't read a balance sheet would call that a crisis."

"And here's the part socialists hate saying out loud: 'Free' is a lie. Every so-called free program comes with a price tag, and someone always pays for it," he added.

Adams argued that Mamdani's real motive behind his press conference was to find a way to pay for the "laundry list of 'free' giveaways" he promised New Yorkers "to buy votes."

"Now that the math doesn't work, instead of owning the fact that he misled New Yorkers, he's blaming me," Adams said. "This is the same Mamdani who spent years attacking me for not spending enough during the migrant crisis. The only reason those reserves exist is because I ignored him and his socialist comrades who demanded we blow billions more with no guardrails."

Adams mocked Mamdani in a third post on X, writing, "When you promise 'free' everything on Sunday, boldly declare that millionaires and billionaires shouldn't exist on Monday, and by Tuesday you're scrambling to fund your giveaways with the very people you wanted gone just yesterday."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!