NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin are set to announce an agreement Tuesday to extend the city’s executive budget deadline, while jointly seeking more aid from Albany.
The public cordiality between the two officials marks a sharp reversal from the animosity that erupted earlier this month over the city’s troubled finances.
By law, the mayor must issue an executive budget proposal by May 1. However, with the city facing a billion-dollar budget gap, revenue from Albany has become a key element of the equation. State lawmakers and the governor are now nearly a month late on their own budget, and the chances of coming together with a fully fleshed out plan by Friday are slim. This makes it difficult for Mamdani to meet the statutory deadline, which can only be extended by a vote of the council.
The mayor and Menin plan to announce a delay until mid-May, advocating for additional revenue from Albany to close a $5.4 billion budget gap and avoid a politically toxic property tax increase, according to two people with knowledge of the planning, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations.
The mayor’s office and the speaker’s team did not immediately comment, but their joint appearance appeared to meet calls for both officials to get on the same page before Albany comes to the state for another bailout. This message was delivered directly to the mayor by the Assembly’s powerful speaker, Carl Heastie.
“I told them it would be helpful for the City Council to decide where they are, and I believe that’s what they’re going to try to do.” Hastie told reporters","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026/04/heastie-new-york-city-needs-to-be-on-solid-financial-footing-00887249","_Identification": :"0000019d-d19c-dc33-abff-fdfc70020001","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-d19c-dc33-abff-fdfc70020002","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>Hastie told reporters Last week.
The latest deal between Menin and Mamdani would be the first time the release of an executive budget has been delayed since 2015","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://nysfocus.com/2026/04/25/mamdani-late-budget","_Identification": :"0000019d-d19c-dc33-abff-fdfc70020003","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-d19c-dc33-abff-fdfc70020004","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>since 2015That’s when former Mayor Bill de Blasio and the council reached an agreement to move the May 1 deadline forward.
The joint presence is also another sign of tension between the two officials getting cold","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/15/nyregion/mamdani-menin-deal-department-investigation.html","_Identification": :"0000019d-d19c-dc33-abff-fdfc70020005","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-d19c-dc33-abff-fdfc70020006","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>getting cold Following the uproar arising from a council report on the city’s finances.
On April 1, the body released its response to the mayor’s preliminary budget, suggesting that the city’s books could be balanced without major intervention from Albany – a thesis that undermined Mamdani’s pressure for higher taxes to close the gap and which received a sharp rebuke from the democratic socialists.
Shortly thereafter, Menin began to more strongly assert her role as a check on the executive branch, issuing several critical statements, threatening a major mayoral candidate, and even helping to organize a small protest outside a 100-day mayoral celebration in Queens.
While Menin is now willing to join Mamdani in calling for more direct state aid, he has shown no signs of being willing to support his effort for Albany to authorize income and corporate tax increases.","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/28/mamdani-ratchets-up-tax-the-rich-rhetoric-as-hochul-launches-a-reelection-run-00753931","_Identification": :"0000019d-d19c-dc33-abff-fdfc70030000","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-d19c-dc33-abff-fdfc70030001","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>To authorize income and corporate tax increases. This year – a position she shares with Hochul.
The moderate Democratic governor is a trusted ally.has become","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/15/kathy-hochul-has-become-zohran-mamdanis-most-important-ally-00874884","_Identification": :"0000019d-d19c-dc33-abff-fdfc70030002","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-d19c-dc33-abff-fdfc70030003","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>a trusted ally Democratic socialist for mayor. He gave Mamdani his first major victory in January by agreeing to a massive expansion of free child care, a key issue for both of them.
Hochul also agreed to several state-supported measures to strengthen New York City’s finances. In February, he and the mayor struck a deal to send the state $1.5 billion in additional aid","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026/02/under-pressure-to-raise-taxes-hochul-sends-more-cash-to-new-york-city-00783239","_Identification": :"0000019d-d19c-dc33-abff-fdfc70030004","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-d19c-dc33-abff-fdfc70030005","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>$1.5 billion in additional aid To help close the city’s budget gap. Last month, the governor proposed an annual pied-à-terre surcharge on non-primary New York City residences worth more than $5 million — a narrowly defined tax that is expected to generate $500 million for the city.
“I know the pied-a-terre proposal is on the table, which is nice, but not enough,” Deputy Senate Majority Leader Mike Gianaris said Monday. “Hopefully we’ll be able to raise some additional money for them.”
Yet the governor is unwilling to accept sweeping tax increases, including higher rates on wealthy people and large corporations.
Democratic state lawmakers are considering additional financial aid for the city amid ongoing budget talks in Albany, including more money for the Aid to Municipalities program as well as more money for the city’s schools.
“There’s a lot more we can think about in terms of progressive revenue to help the city,” said Brooklyn State Senator Andrew Gounardes.
