How New York mayor Zohran Mamdani solved the city’s budget crisis

The mayor’s new budget proposal closes a massive deficit while expanding social programs.

Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, during a news conference presenting the fiscal year 2027 executive budget at City Hall in New York, US, on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. [Photo: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg/Getty Images]

Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old mayor of New York City, who campaigned on making the city more affordable, is facing one of the hardest tests of leadership: delivering on ambitious promises despite facing a challenging landscape.

After inheriting a $12 billion gap in the budget—the largest since the Great Recession—Mamdani just released his $124.7........

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