CUNY TV logo

 

This edition: Can Mamdani Balance the NYC Budget without Raising Taxes?

Episode Details

Original tape date: April 7, 2026. First aired: May 12, 2026.

Last February, left wing NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani released his “preliminary budget” projecting a deficit of $5.4 billion which he would close by imposing a “tax on the rich.” To do the income tax piece, he needs authority from Albany, unlikely in an election year. So, his fallback is a hefty 9.5% property tax rate increase generating $3.7 billion and invading city reserves called the “rainy day fund.” Robust pushback has come from the more moderate City Council which must approve the plan. Andrew Rein, President of the Citizen Budget Commission shares his insights on the executive budget.

Guest List

Andrew Rein President, Citizen Budget Commission

  • About this series

  • Conversations with Jim Zirin is a talk show designed to illuminate the news by taking the time required to understand and interpret national and world events. The series features high-profile guests from the worlds of politics, law, business, foreign relations, national security, counterterrorism, media, lifestyles, literature, the arts, and the military.

    The series is hosted by Jim Zirin, a leading litigator and contributor to major publications including Forbes, the Daily Beast, the Nation, The Times of London and the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of two books, The Mother Court -- Tales of Cases That Mattered in America's Greatest Trial Court, and Supremely Partisan—How Raw Politics Tips the Scales in the United States Supreme Court. Jim served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York in the Criminal Division under the legendary Robert M. Morgenthau.

  • Regular air times

  • Monday – Thursday 10:30pm

  • More on this series

  • Watch previous editions online
  • Sign up for the CUNY TV email newsletter
    • FacebookTwitterYouTube Instagram