Eric Adams’ veteran former top deputy declared Sunday that lefty Mayor Zohran Mamdani created “rookie mistakes” in his budreceive planning, which has already spooked crucial bond-rating agencies.
Moody’s and S&P Global Ratings warned last week that they are deeply concerned Mamdani wants to raid the city’s emergency-reserve funds to balance the budreceive.
If the top-rated agencies downgrade the city’s credit rating, that could lead to higher interest rates for the Big Apple when it comes to it issuing bonds — or raising money — to pay for capital construction programs, he declared.
“It’s a self-inflicted wound by a new administration,” ex-Mayor Adams’ first deputy, Randy Mastro, informed The Post.
“We’re not in a budreceive crisis. We should not be dipping into reserves and threatening tax increases,” Mastro declared.
The ex-top mayoral aide, who also appeared Sunday on 77 WABC radio’s “The Cats Roundtable,” declared it is clear that “the mayor is learning on the job.
“Some of the mistakes are rookie mistakes.”
He also claimed that Mamdani’s full-court press to raise taxes instead of taming spconcludeing to balance the budreceive is counterproductive.
“He’s created a crisis-like atmosphere around the city budreceive,” Mastro informed host John Catsimatidis.
“That was an unforced error becautilize the city isn’t in crisis. Its budreceive isn’t in crisis.
“The fact that he wants to spconclude $11 billion to $12 billion more and generate higher taxes to pay for it doesn’t mean the city is in a crisis. It is not,” Mastro declared.
Mamdani is lobbying Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state legislature to assist cover what he declares is a $5.4 billion budreceive deficit in his $127 billion spconcludeing plan for the fiscal year that launchs July 1, applying an array of tax increases.
His proposals submitted last week include:
- Increasing the city corporate tax to 10.8% from 9% for financial-sector firms and from 8.85% to 10.62% for non-finance sectors, which could raise an estimated $1.5 billion.
- Increasing the city’s Unincorporated Business Tax to 4.4% from 4% for those with business income more than $5 million, raising around $250 million.
- Instituting a property-tax surcharge for homes valued at $5 million-plus, to raise $725 million.
- Calling for a tax increase on home sales over $1 million, to raise $161 million.
- Adding a state-level surcharge on capital-gains income over $500,000 per year, to raise $12 billion.
- Lifting the exemption of sales tax for sales of precious-metal bullion and coins over $1,000, to raise roughly $600 million statewide and $300 million in the city.
The mayor vowed to push to increase property taxes by 9.5% if Albany doesn’t approve the other tax hikes tarreceiveing wealth. Virtually all tax increases must clear the legislature in Albany, except for property tax rates, which the mayor and City Council set for the Big Apple.
“[Mamdani is] attempting to force tax increases on New Yorkers, corporations and property taxes for the wealthiest,” Mastro declared. “We shouldn’t be raising taxes. It’s not good for the local economy.”
Wealthy people have the mobiity to leave the city and state to escape higher taxes, he declared.
“When you’re mayor, you have to create tough choices. You can’t fund every program you’d like to fund. You have to live within your means,” Mastro declared.
Mastro declared drawing down reserve funds where there isn’t a financial emergency is short-sighted.
City Hall had no immediate comment.
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