Zohran Mamdani’s statement that the money came “straight from Albany” says it all.
New York City’s socialist mayor was caught on video chuckling alongside Governor Kathy Hochul, speaking about blowing taxpayer cash on his custom-made jacket. When Hochul asked, “Is this from my budget money?” Mamdani responded, “Yes, straight out of Albany.”
Socialist NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani laughs alongside Governor Kathy Hochul as he brags about blowing taxpayer money on his custom-made jacket.
Hochul: “Is this from my budget money?”
Mamdani: “Yes, straight out of Albany.”
These entitled grifters aren't even hiding it anymore.… pic.twitter.com/rXd4P6MQov
— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) July 8, 2026
That little comedy routine tells you everything you need to know about how the city’s first socialist executive treats taxpayers’ hard-earned money.
While the mayor plays fashion model allegedly on the public dime, he has celebrated a massive $4 billion bailout from Albany to plug a staggering $5.4 billion budget hole — a deficit largely manufactured by his own radical, pie-in-the-sky campaign promises. Hochul, desperate to appear moderate ahead of her upcoming reelection bid, caved to the socialist’s demands after months of gridlock.
To fund Mamdani’s progressive wonderland, Hochul scraped together billions by raiding public employee pensions, delaying smaller class sizes for city schoolchildren, and slapping a new “pied-à-terre” tax on luxury second homes. That gimmick balances today’s books on the backs of future generations.
But the real tragedy of Mamdani’s bloated $126 billion fiscal plan isn’t just the creative accounting — it’s who he left out in the cold.
The radical new budget funnels a massive $37.9 billion to the Department of Education and splashes tens of millions on immigration services designed to push back against federal enforcement. Meanwhile, the NYPD got a measly $6.6 billion. There is no funding to recruit new officers into a city police force that is already bleeding staff and facing severe burnout.
Mamdani totally surrendered to anti-police activists, completely walking back a prior campaign pledge to stabilize officer headcount. While rank-and-file cops log crushing overtime hours to keep the streets safe, the mayor is instead funding $1,000 college vouchers for kindergarteners and throwing cash at cultural institutions.
In a Tax Day video outside Ken Griffin’s penthouse, Mamdani said, “When I ran for mayor, I said I was going to tax the rich. Today, we’re taxing the rich.”
New York City has been legally required to balance its books since the fiscal crisis of the 1970s. But instead of practicing actual fiscal responsibility, Mamdani is just leaning on Albany to keep his socialist experiment afloat.
That proves once again that when progressives run out of their own money, they just come for yours.
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