Overview
- Comptroller Mark Levine forecasts a $2.2 billion deficit this fiscal year and a $10.4 billion gap in FY27, the largest this late in the cycle since the Great Recession.
- His office flags $3.8 billion in unbudgeted FY26 costs, including rental assistance, overtime, shelter operations, public assistance, special-education due process, and MTA contributions.
- Levine is pressing Mayor Zohran Mamdani to detail how he will close the roughly $12 billion cumulative gap in an early February preliminary budget.
- Gov. Kathy Hochul signaled no tax increases in her budget, limiting Albany-driven revenue options as City Hall weighs cuts, phasing, or growth strategies.
- Risks include a potential $6–$20 billion five-year cost from a housing voucher expansion and an insolvent Health Insurance Stabilization Fund with about $3.1 billion in unpaid liabilities, as Levine also tees up audits and pension-driven housing investment.