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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani promoted a Big Apple “where every family can afford a home” and ripped “ICE’s cruelty and violence” Saturday as he faces criticism for proposing hiking property taxes to balance the city’s budget.
Mamdani made the remarks while paying tribute to the late Rev. Jesse Jackson at an event hosted by Al Sharpton’s National Action Network.
“When New Yorkers link arms with someone they have never met before and marched for the voiceless and the downtrodden, hope is alive. When New Yorkers sacrifice their precious free time in a city where every child can have the education that they deserve, where every family can afford a home in the stability that it holds, where our criminal justice system is fair and our economy is just, when New Yorkers link arms in the fight for those things, hope is alive,” Mamdani said.
“Hope is the light. And we know this, that while Reverend Jackson may not be with us any longer, his purpose has not dimmed, his clarity has not faded. As we work every day towards a New York that delivers dignity for all, towards a nation that rejects ICE’s cruelty and violence, towards the stranger among us, and towards a society where compassion is not a rarity, where solidarity is not abstract, let the reverend’s words be our guide,” he added.
NYC RESIDENTS SAY MAMDANI RENEGING ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROMISE WITH PROPOSED PROPERTY TAX HIKE
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks to reporters about the city’s finances during a news conference on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (Seth Wenig/AP)
During a news conference on Tuesday, Mamdani called on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers in Albany to raise income taxes on the “ultra-wealthy and the most profitable corporations” to help close the city’s budget gap.
If they do not, Mamdani warned about “painful decisions of last resort” that include a potential 9.5% property tax increase.
MAMDANI TELLS ‘THE VIEW’ HE FAVORS ABOLISHING ICE
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a tribute honoring the life of Rev. Jesse Jackson, hosted by Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network (NAN), at the Mother AME Zion Church in New York City, on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)
This increase would affect approximately 3 million homes across working and middle-class New Yorkers.
Some New York City residents now argue that Mamdani is reneging on his affordable housing campaign promises by floating potentially hiking property taxes.
“You are giving only two options. You’re saying if we don’t tax the rich then I gotta increase property taxes,” one Queen homeowner, James Johnson, reportedly told WABC. “We are not a pawn in Southeast Queens. We are not part of your negotiation tactics.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani shakes hands with Rev. Al Sharpton, with New York Attorney General Letitia James and director Spike Lee next to them, during a tribute honoring the life of Rev. Jesse Jackson in New York City, on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)
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Mamdani admitted that middle class New Yorkers would bear the brunt of his proposal.
“This would effectively be a tax on working and middle class New Yorkers, who have a median income of $122,000,” Mamdani said.
Digital’s Lindsay Kornick and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
