Over a thousand demonstrators gathered in front of the New York State Capitol building on Wednesday (25th) to call on the state governor and top state officials to increase taxes on the wealthy and corporations in order to support New York City Mayor Mamdani’s “Affordable City” governance agenda.
The organizers described the event as an “Albany takeover” in hopes of demonstrating widespread public opinion and urging the state government to include a plan to tax high-income earners in the new fiscal year budget. However, the actual turnout was only about a thousand people, far below the organizers’ original expectation of 3,000 attendees.
The rally was organized by several progressive groups, unions, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), and the non-profit organization “Our Time,” which originated from Mamdani’s campaign team.
However, Mamdani himself was not present at the event, and no senior state officials showed up either. Brooklyn State Assembly member and DSA member, Phara Souffrant Forrest, served as the keynote speaker, while New York City Council member Chi Ossé moderated the event.
Compared to past Albany protests that often drew thousands, or even tens of thousands of people, the size of this gathering was relatively small. The demonstrators present mainly came from New York City, with a total of 26 buses transporting people to Albany. A former union spokesperson pointed out that the scale of the crowd activities indeed reflects to some extent the public opinion.
“Our Time” has been mobilizing grassroots efforts since December last year, aiming to collect 25,000 petitions supporting taxing the wealthy to send to state legislators by the end of January, but has only received about 7,000 petitions so far.
Mamdani responded on the same day, stating that his absence at the rally does not imply a change in stance. He emphasized that taxing the wealthiest New Yorkers and corporations is an important means to fill the $5.4 billion budget gap in New York City.
However, Ho Chu reiterated his opposition to raising state income taxes and criticized Mamdani’s proposal to increase New York City property taxes.
Supporters of taxing the wealthy argue that the cost of living in New York continues to rise, especially with soaring rents and childcare costs, and redistributing wealth through taxing high-income groups is necessary.
Opponents, on the other hand, emphasize that New York City is already one of the areas with the highest state and local tax rates in the country, and excessive taxation may weaken competitiveness. Lawmakers should focus on how to attract businesses and residents to stay, rather than further burdening them with taxes. State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt directly described the rally as a “political show.”
Nevertheless, several demonstrators stated that since the voters have elected Mamdani, they will continue to demand systemic changes to ensure that New York becomes a “more livable state.”