Newly elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist who stormed City Hall on a promise to make New York “affordable for everyone,” is already facing his first — and potentially defining — political confrontation: Albany.

Mamdani’s sweeping campaign agenda — city-run grocery stores, universal childcare, and free public buses — hinges on steep new taxes for the city’s wealthiest residents and corporations. But under state law, he can’t raise a dime of those taxes without state approval — and Governor Kathy Hochul has made it clear she’s not on board.

At his jubilant election-night rally in Brooklyn, supporters erupted in chants of “Tax the rich!” when Hochul’s image appeared on the big screen. The moment underscored a deep ideological fault line between the state’s moderate Democratic leadership and its ascendant left flank.

Mamdani’s plan calls for a 2% city income tax on millionaires and a top corporate rate increase to 11.5%, matching New Jersey’s — measures he says are essential to fund his progressive vision. But Article XVI of the New York State Constitution leaves taxation power solely in Albany’s hands. The mayor of New York City, no matter how ambitious, cannot raise or create taxes without legislative and gubernatorial approval.

Governor Hochul, who has repeatedly rejected calls to raise taxes on the wealthy, struck a firm tone in an interview last week.

“One energetic rally won’t change my mind,” Hochul told Fox News’ Raging Moderates podcast. “I can’t make up for lost revenue by taxing the middle class or struggling New Yorkers. I have to protect those who already fund our budget.”

The governor’s remarks came just days after a tense scene at the “New York Is Not for Sale” rally in Forest Hills, where Hochul appeared alongside Mamdani, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Sen. Bernie Sanders. When Hochul took the stage, the crowd erupted in “Tax the rich!” chants so loud that Mamdani was forced to join her onstage mid-speech, clasping her hand in a show of unity.

“I can hear you,” Hochul said dryly, as the chant roared on.

Mamdani later defended the governor, insisting their shared focus on affordability transcends political differences.

“Whenever I speak with the governor, it always comes back to affordability,” Mamdani told reporters. “That’s the defining purpose of our politics — and it’s what we’re going to deliver.”

But for many progressives, Hochul’s resistance to taxing the rich has become a litmus test of her credibility as the party’s leader. Hochul herself downplayed the incident. “I couldn’t hear what they were chanting,” she quipped. “I thought they were saying, ‘Let’s go, Bills.’”

Still, the tension is undeniable. Hochul only reluctantly endorsed Mamdani during the campaign — and while she joined him on the trail, Mamdani has yet to endorse her as she eyes a likely showdown with Rep. Elise Stefanik in next year’s gubernatorial race.

Stefanik wasted no time highlighting the moment.

“Kathy Hochul and her endorsed Commie Mamdani are literally destroying New York,” the Republican firebrand declared Tuesday night.

For now, Mamdani enters City Hall buoyed by a movement but boxed in by reality: he’s a mayor who campaigned on taxing the rich — in a city where only Albany can make that call.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)