NYC BUDGET: City Hall approves first round of savings after Mamdani told agencies to tighten belts

Staring a huge NYC budget gap in the face, Mayor Zohran Mamdani‘s administration said Wednesday it had identified several money-saving moves after ordering city agencies to tighten their belts – from canceling the Taxi and Limousine Commission’s Slack subscription to renegotiating shelter Wi-Fi contracts and auditing city workers’ health-plan dependents.

City Hall announced Wednesday morning that agencies submitted proposals by the March 20 deadline identifying more than $1.7 billion in savings, but the administration released only an initial list of approved items, whose line items add up to about $237.1 million across fiscal years 2026 and 2027.