In the northwest Bronx, calls for Gov. Kathy Hochul to raise taxes on New York’s wealthiest residents and corporations echoed across the Lehman College campus March 29, where Sen. Bernie Sanders urged the governor to take action amid New York City’s widening projected budget gap.
The “Tax the Rich” rally took place just days before Hochul’s April 1 deadline to finalize the fiscal year 2027 state budget, as negotiations in Albany over how to address the city’s estimated $5.4 million budget deficit. Progressive lawmakers and advocates pushed for revenue measures backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani — namely, raising income tax on those earning over $1 million annually and increasing corporate taxes on large, highly profitable companies.
“Mayor Mamdani has proposed a surcharge of two percentage points on New York City millionaires,” Sanders said at the rally. “That is .7 percent of total city taxes — fewer than 1 percent — which would generate approximately $3 million annually. So let us be clear on the mayor’s proposal, 99.3% of people in New York City would not nickel more in taxes.”…