City faces multibillion-dollar budget gaps – and not because of the economy, Comptroller says

By Adam Daly

Posted on January 16, 2026

New York City is facing a $2.2 billion budget shortfall in this fiscal year and a projected $10.4 billion gap the following year, according to a new analysis released Friday by new Comptroller Mark Levine, who blamed years of underbudgeting and reliance on one-time fixes.

Levine said the gaps, the largest the city has faced this late in the budget cycle since the Great Recession, are not the result of an economic downturn, but of spending decisions made under the previous mayoral administration of Eric Adams.