Four months after taking office, the mayor praised by the left around the world has backtracked on all his electoral promises. That’s not enough: he also announced a spending cut plan of 1.7 billion. So the new taxes are moving entrepreneurs and managers to Florida.
Now four months after taking over the helm of New Yorkthe political budget of Zohran Mamdanithe Muslim socialist mayor of the city, already appears marked by a clear gap between the many electoral promises and the decisions adopted once he entered office City Hall. The campaign that led him to victory was built around a clear message: make the city more accessible, lighten the burden of rent and intervene in the school system to improve learning conditions and guarantee free transport.
Today, however, many of those priorities are being scaled back, held back by budget constraints that the administration has cited as the main obstacle to implementing the program. But this was known even before, just as it was known that the supermarkets at controlled prices promised by Mamdani they were pure illusion, as was free public transport. In fact, no one saw them.
The gap between electoral promises and budget reality
The first node concerns precisely the housing policythe heart of the electoral commitment. Mamdani he promised decisive interventions to contain housing costs and expand support for families in difficulty. In particular, during the campaign he had assured that he would withdraw the legal challenge against the expansion of the program CityFhepsa city-funded rental voucher system to help residents transition out of shelters and into stable housing. Once elected, however, the line immediately changed. The administration has decided to continue the litigation initiated by the previous management, arguing that the extension of the program would entail too high costs for the municipal coffers.
The decision provoked immediate critical reactions. The program, which currently weighs approx 1.2 billion dollarsrepresents essential support for tens of thousands of families. Estimates indicate that by 2030 the cost could rise to 4.7 billion, while approx 68,000 families they already depend on this measure today. The choice not to withdraw the appeal was interpreted by many observers as a sign of continuity with the previous administration, in open contrast to the commitment made during the electoral campaign.
The postponement of investments in public education
Criticism came from both the world of social organizations and the city council. Several representatives have underlined how continuing the legal battle risks slowing down access to stable housing solutions for thousands of citizens. Some have spoken explicitly about broken promisehighlighting how the change of direction has affected one of the most symbolic points of the electoral programme. The associations involved in the management of homeless shelters have also expressed their concern, arguing that the program represents one of the most effective tools to reduce the housing emergency.
At the same time, a second pillar of the campaign, that relating to education, seems to suffer the same fate. Mamdani had indicated the reduction of the number of students per class as a priority intervention to improve the quality of teaching in public schools. However, to help balance the accounts, the administration is reportedly considering postponing the application of state legislation requiring smaller classes. The measure would require the hiring of more 10,000 teacherswith a significant impact on the city budget. Again, the electoral promise was suspended in the face of financial difficulties.
The defense of the administration and the Salis model
The economic context represents the administration’s main defensive argument, much as it does Silvia Salis in Genoa. Mamdani announced a spending reduction plan equal to 1.7 billion dollarsnecessary to address an estimated deficit in 5.4 billion in the next two years. The declared objective is to maintain the balance of the accounts without compromising essential services. However, these very containment measures are impacting the policies that characterized the electoral campaign, fueling the perception of a clear retreat compared to the initial commitments.
Even on an institutional level the comparison becomes more complex. The New York State has made it known that it is willing to collaborate to reduce the deficit, but only after the city has identified concrete and sustainable savings, which have not yet been presented. This increases the pressure on the administration, which is called upon to present a executive budget by the end of April and to obtain final approval by July 1st. In this context, political choices are increasingly conditioned by the need to contain spending. The political and social reactions reflect a growing disappointment on the part of the electorate that he had supported Mamdani.
The flight of high-income taxpayers to Florida
The promise to give back New York more accessible, especially on the housing front, represented one of the strongest messages of his candidacy. Today, however, the decisions adopted go in the opposite direction, with interventions postponed or scaled back. The same desire to continue the appeal on the program CityFheps it has become the symbol of this distance between commitments and administrative reality. Overall, the start of the mandate highlights a clear difficulty in translating proposals into concrete actions, apart from announcements. The choices made so far show an administration forced to review priorities, but also completely incapable, at least until today, of keeping the promises that had supported the electoral victory.
More and more high-income taxpayers are leaving New Yorkattracted by lighter tax systems, a lower cost of living and a housing model considered more advantageous. What for decades was the global financial capital is experiencing a discreet but significant transformation, destined to directly impact the public finances and the economic balance of the city. The phenomenon is not recent, but in recent years it has taken on more evident dimensions. Finance managers, tech entrepreneurs and real estate investors are moving their homes and businesses to destinations like Miami, Palm Beach And Austinwith a particular attraction for Florida.
The tax shortfall and the challenge of the surtax on millionaires
One hundred and twenty-five thousand. It is the number that summarizes the scope of the phenomenon and is fueling the debate among economists and analysts. These are wealthy taxpayers, including many ultra-rich, who have decided to leave New York State to move elsewhere. A strategic choice that produced an estimated reduction of approximately 14 billion dollars of tax revenue. A significant shortfall, which pushed the authorities to recognize the size of the problem and evaluate possible countermeasures. There Floridaoften described as an internal “tax haven”. United Statesattracts investors and entrepreneurs due to the absence of a state personal income tax.
The comparison with New York it’s clear. In the State the income tax can reach up to 10.9% for higher incomes. According to early 2026 data, the city had the highest combined tax burden in the United States United States. A particularly relevant element if we consider that the richest taxpayers represent less than 1% of the total but pay approximately 41% of the tax total income. In February, the mayor Zohran Mamdani presented the first budget of his administration. To reduce the gap between revenues and expenses, the mayor proposed a 2% surtax on millionaires residents. The measure could generate around three billion dollars a year, but the risk is that new taxes could further accelerate the exodus, worsening the revenue problem.
