Mamdani May Be About to Pick the Wrong Fight

"Zohran Mamdani, a quick learner, has joined a long list of New York mayors who took the oath of office and promptly began slamming their predecessor for leaving the city's finances in shambles. At the White House, in a tradition started by Ronald Reagan, departing presidents have left a personal handwritten note on the Resolute Desk for their successor to discover upon entering the Oval Office after the inauguration."

"Mamdani says Eric Adams is to blame. "This crisis has a name and a chief architect. In the words of the Jackson 5, it's as easy as A-B-C. This is the Adams budget crisis," Mamdani told reporters at a press conference. "In 2025, under the banner of what he called the 'best budget ever,' former mayor Eric Adams handed the next administration a poisoned chalice. He systematically underbudgeted services that New Yorkers rely on every single day.""

"It all sounds familiar to New Yorkers of a certain age. In the same building where Mamdani railed against Adams, Mayor John Lindsay blamed his predecessor, Robert Wagner, for leaving him a budget deficit in 1966. The next mayor, Abe Beame, attacked Lindsay for running up the city's debt in ways that led to its near-bankruptcy in 1975. Two years later, Ed Koch defeated Beame and a crowded field of challengers by promising to clean up Beame's mess."

Zohran Mamdani took office and immediately blamed former mayor Eric Adams for a $12 billion budget gap and underfunded city services. Mamdani said the prior administration offered no clear signs of addressing the shortfall and accused Adams of underbudgeting in 2025 under the "best budget ever" banner, handing a "poisoned chalice" to the next administration. Mamdani asserted that Adams systematically underfunded services New Yorkers rely on every day. The practice of incoming mayors blaming predecessors has precedent in New York history, including Lindsay, Beame and Koch. Mamdani said he had ample advance warning of the $12 billion shortfall.

Read at Intelligencer