Senate Republicans want Gov. Kathy Hochul to scrap her plan to send $1.5 billion to New York City.
Members of the Senate Republican Conference sent a letter Thursday urging the governor to reverse course on what they call a bailout.
Hochul announced the proposal as part of her 30-day budget amendments.
In their letter, lawmakers wrote, “This bailout is unfair to the rest of the state, and we strongly urge you not to move forward with it. Hardworking families across New York should not be forced to subsidize fiscal mismanagement in New York City.”
They pointed to city spending on housing and health care for undocumented migrants, which they said cost nearly $10 billion over several years, with another $1.2 billion projected next year.
“The fiscal deficit New York City now faces is the direct result of poor decisions by New York City officials, such as prioritizing undocumented migrants ahead of hardworking New Yorkers,” the letter states.
Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt criticized both the governor and New York City Mayor Mamdani.
“Governor Hochul is getting ready to hand $1.5 Billion to Mayor Mamdani, and it still won’t be enough as he advocates for his bloated budget proposal that includes even more funding for illegal migrants, raises taxes, endangers public safety by defunding the NYPD, and spends $10 billion over last year’s city budget,” Ortt said.
The governor’s proposal came before the mayor unveiled a $127 billion city budget, which marks a $10 billion increase over last year. The mayor’s plan also includes an additional $1.2 billion in spending for illegal migrants.
In the letter, lawmakers compared New York City’s $115.9 billion fiscal year 2026 budget to Florida’s $117 billion state budget that same year. They wrote that the city’s budget has grown by more than $41 billion over the past decade, a 54% increase.
“New York City does not have a revenue problem; it has a spending problem,” the letter states.
Several senators argued that upstate and suburban taxpayers should not shoulder the cost.
“It is wrong to ask hardworking New Yorkers living outside of New York City to shoulder the cost of the City’s fiscal mismanagement,” said Senator Dean Murray.
“If the state has an extra $1.5 billion in taxpayer funds lying around, that money should be returned to taxpayers, not spent on a $1.5 billion election year bailout of NYC’s bad financial choices,” said Senator Jim Tedisco.
Lawmakers closed their letter with a direct appeal to the governor.
“We urge you to rethink your plan to use statewide taxpayer funds to bailout New York City officials’ reckless spending,” they wrote.
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