Mamdanis $126B budget soars nearly 10% from last year, leaving NYC on verge of fiscal crisis

Zo’s busting the budget.Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s inaugural, record-breaking nearly $126 billion budget was set to pass Tuesday — growing city spending by more than $10 billion from last year despite his past dire warnings about the Big Apple’s financial situation.The under-the-wire vote by the City Council came just hours before a Wednesday deadline and after frantic last-minute attempts to drum up votes for a spending deal that disappointed lefties and moderates alike.The budget, which includes no significant cuts, ballooned from last year’s roughly $116 billion spending plan, for an approximate 8.5% increase.And while the democratic socialist mayor managed to balance the budget, City Comptroller Mark Levine noted that he only did so by using $6.1 billion in one-time tricks and short-term savings.“This agreement gets the city through an exceptionally difficult year, but it does not resolve the structural challenges ahead,” Levine said. “With large out-year gaps, limited reserves and significant economic uncertainty, next year’s budget could be even more difficult.”The city faces a whopping $8.8 billion shortfall for the next budget, according to the city comptroller’s office — setting up Mamdani and the Council for a potential bruising rehash of this year’s topsy-turvy negotiations.Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin dutifully smiled for the cameras as they announced their handshake budget deal Tuesday morning, but their grins belied long-simmering tensions.The budget hit an 11th-hour snag over Mamdani backtracking on a campaign promise to fund the expansion of a housing voucher program — a darling of progressive lawmakers that comes with a hefty price tag.A skin-of-their-teeth deal preserved the cityFHEPS expansion — adding $175 million to $1.7 billion already on the books — and dropped a contentious lawsuit that Mamdani pursued, much to the dismay of his progressive allies.And many moderates were blindsided by Mamdani flip-...