New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) is facing backlash from an unexpected place.
His own allies.
The fallout began after Mamdani released a video attacking the City Council’s budget proposal, claiming it would slash billions in services.
That claim did not go over well.
Council members from across the political spectrum, including his usual allies, quickly pushed back.
“This is deeply misleading and potentially harmful!” Councilman Kevin Riley said.
“I thought these four years were going to be different.”
The criticism didn’t stop there.
Councilwoman Virginia Maloney responded directly to Mamdani’s claims, accusing him of misrepresenting the numbers.
“I know math is hard, but the @NYCCouncil finance team did the work—digging into the details to find real solutions,” she wrote.
“The Mayor’s proposed City budget is a whopping $127 billion. The City’s not broke, we’re just badly managed.”
The dispute centers around Mamdani’s assertion that the Council’s alternative budget would cut services.
Council members say that’s simply not true.
“Slashing services? Absolutely not,” Councilwoman Jen Gutiérrez said.
“There are no cuts to services. There is waste, and we should be real about it.”
Even members aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America declined to fully back the mayor’s claims.
Instead, they issued a more measured statement supporting negotiations without repeating his accusations.
Behind the scenes, tensions appear even worse.
Sources say Mamdani privately lashed out at council members over their criticism.
One insider claimed the mayor had “lost the council” entirely.
“He’s flailing,” the source said.
“He even texted one member to complain about their tweets.”
Another source went further, accusing Mamdani of pushing a narrative that simply doesn’t match reality.
“It’s a lie, he’s a liar,” the insider said, referring to his claims about service cuts.
The clash comes as the city faces a projected $5.4 billion budget gap, as the New York Post reported.
Mamdani has pushed for higher taxes on wealthy residents to close the shortfall.
The City Council, led by Speaker Julie Menin, has proposed a different approach.
Their plan relies on adjusted revenue projections, savings, and alternative funding sources rather than sweeping tax increases.
Mamdani responded aggressively, calling out Menin by name and accusing her proposal of harming working New Yorkers.
“If her proposal was adopted, it would result in slashing billions of dollars from agency budgets, and working New Yorkers would pay the price,” he said.
That message, delivered through a viral video, only intensified the backlash.
Council members say the mayor turned a routine budget negotiation into a public fight.
“Speaker Menin did her job, and the mayor responded with a wild personal attack,” one source said.
