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New York City Mayor Zahran Mamdani announced at a press conference on Wednesday that the city faces a budget deficit of $12 billion over the next two fiscal years. Mamdani placed the blame largely on former mayor Eric Adams for his continued failure to allocate an adequate budget for basic services.
Adams quickly defended himself on social media, noting that his administration had left $8 billion in reserves. This clash came less than two weeks after Adams launched a meme that caused more than 60% of traders to lose their money.
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Mamdani blames Adams for the financial crisis
Mamdani’s office held a press conference in preparation for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 to discuss what was being called the “Adams budget crisis.”
At its core, the letter focuses on the tight financial constraints the city will face in the coming years. Mamdani placed the responsibility on Adams, explaining that the crisis was the result of a long-term pattern of underfunding basic services such as rental assistance, shelter operations and special education.
This financial imbalance has hollowed out the city’s finances and created a hole that can no longer be sustained, Mamdani said. He added that the current financial crisis exceeds the Great Depression in size.
Mamdani gave specific examples. According to the mayor’s office, Adams allocated $860 million for financial aid in fiscal year 2026, while current projections indicate that costs could reach about $1.7 billion.
Knowing that his term was coming to an end, Mayor Adams put his personal political interest ahead of fiscal responsibility, Mamdani said. He insisted that this is not only mismanagement, but also negligence.
The mayor also targeted former governor Andrew Cuomo for systematically siphoning money from New York City, and Mamdani cited a recent report from the Institute for State and Local Studies at New York University (CUNY).
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The report showed that between 2021 and 2022, New York City contributed 54.5%, or $68.8 billion, of state revenue and received only 40.5%, or $47.6 billion, of state funding.
Cuomo did not respond to the accusations, while Adams did.
Adams denies the budget deficit allegations
Adams rejected the allegations made by Mamdani against him on the X social platform.
It didn’t leave a “budget budget,” Adams wrote, but it did leave more than $8 billion in reserves. Only someone who cannot read the budget statement will call it a crisis, he stressed, adding that every budget passed during his administration was approved by the city council, including the city council colleagues of Mayor Mamdani.
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The city’s financial challenges were revealed Less than a month after Adams left office. The former mayor has since continued to focus on raising awareness of what he described as “a growing anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism” in the United States.
As part of this effort, Adams recently launched a digital token that quickly drew scrutiny from observers who noted similarities with… Previous meme coin scandals.
The loss of NYC coins deepens public scrutiny
January 12th marked Adams’ landmark entry into the world of digital currencies with the launch of… Its own digital code, NYC.
However, the offer caused significant losses to most traders, It was like a classic rug. NYC’s market cap briefly reached $600 million before falling below $100,000.
Blockchain analytics platform BubbleMaps later revealed that a wallet linked to the token launcher withdrew about $2.5 million USDC from the liquidity pool that supports trading, coinciding with the NYC price spike.
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After a drop in the price of the token by more than 60%, the creators of the project reinjected tokens worth $ 1.5 million into the pool. However, this move will not stabilize the price.
BubbleMaps reported later 60% of 4,300 merchants They invested in the token and suffered losses. More than half of them lost less than $1,000, while others faced bigger losses, with 15 traders losing more than $100,000.
A spokesman for Adams released a statement, denying that the launch of the symbol was intended for personal or financial gain, amid growing scrutiny around the issue.
Adams later went on to publicly promote the NYC symbol.
Adams’ defenses of his record are intertwined with growing questions surrounding the launch of his meme currency, while budget talks with Mamdani’s office escalate.
