Speaker Julie Menin cancelled a budget handshake with Mayor Zohran Mamdani Friday after the two sides couldn’t agree on funding an expansion of the city’s housing voucher program, CityFHEPS.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first spending plan hit a bump in the road Friday, when Speaker Julie Menin cancelled a handshake on a budget deal after the two failed to agree on funding for the city’s voucher program.
The voucher program, CityFHEPS, became a sticking point for several progressive Council members who said they would not vote for a budget that does not include a significant expansion, putting pressure on Speaker Menin, City Limits reported last week.
But the speaker and councilmembers rallied together Friday morning to turn that pressure onto the mayor to expand the program…