"The budget gap itself was old news, disclosed first by Comptroller Mark Levine nearly two weeks ago-in an announcement whose details owed much to his predecessor, former comptroller Brad Lander's final report, which had projected "a $2.18 billion gap for FY 2026...a gap of $10.41 billion [in FY 2027], $13.24 billion in FY 2028, and $12.36 billion in FY 2029.""
"But the mayor's dramatic tale of his predecessor's fiscal fiddling was designed with a clear political agenda in mind: both to underline the magnitude of the problem and to identify the villains responsible for this perfidy. "In the words of the Jackson 5, 'it's as easy as ABC,'" said the mayor, reprising a tune from his interview earlier in the week with ABC's Jonathan Karl. "This is an Adams Budget Crisis.""
Mayor Zohran Mamdani disclosed a $12 billion shortfall across the next two fiscal years. Comptroller Mark Levine had previously revealed the gap, citing former comptroller Brad Lander's multi-year deficit projections. Mamdani accused outgoing Mayor Eric Adams of underestimating known expenses to present a balanced budget and labeled the situation an "Adams Budget Crisis." Mamdani invoked a Jackson 5 lyric during public remarks and held the press conference in the Blue Room, flanked by First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan and Budget Director Sherif Soliman, signaling imminent fiscal decisions and scrutiny.
Read at The Nation
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