The state budget is now more than a month late, and it’s not looking like Mayor Mamdani will get all the help he is seeking from Albany to close the city’s $6 billion budget gap. Gov. Hochul proposed a pied-à-terre tax to help the city narrow its budget gap and recently confirmed that no additional tax proposals are forthcoming. It’s time to stop waiting on Albany. The mayor should move forward with revenue-generating ideas that don’t rely on state action.
Fortunately, there are many sensible options to raise new revenues that don’t require approval from Albany. A recent report by Center for an Urban Future outlined five opportunities.
First, the city can generate more than $1 billion in new revenue every year with a modest expansion of parking meters. This wouldn’t just boost the city’s coffers; it’s good policy. The city has 12,000 miles of curb, encompassing more than 3 million street parking spaces. But just 80,000 of these are metered — 2.5%. This includes a surprising number of commercial districts without metered parking in front of storefronts.
By metering just 25% of existing free street parking spaces, the city could generate $1.2 billion in annual revenue while improving turnover for local businesses and reducing congestion from cruising.
The mayor should also take steps to ensure the city doesn’t come up empty from the inevitable expansion of autonomous vehicles into New York. When ride-hailing services first arrived here a decade ago, the city captured relatively little revenue from what soon became a massive new industry. This time, the city should get ahead of a major transportation shift by establishing impact fees on AVs as a tradeoff for allowing them to operate here.
Driverless ride-hailing services are already operating in several major U.S. cities, and state lawmakers are actively considering legislation that would allow AVs to operate here. Imposing a revenue framework before the market takes off would generate tens of millions in recurring income, some of which could be dedicated to street safety, EV infrastructure, and support for workers impacted by automation.
While AVs are still on the horizon, battery storage is already here. But the city isn’t yet capitalizing on their revenue-raising potential. The mayor can change this by siting some battery storage facilities on city property.
New York will need dozens of new energy storage facilities in the coming decade to meet clean energy goals, modernize the city’s aging electrical system, and add resiliency to the grid. In 2023, the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice (MOCEJ) identified 47 city-owned sites — including unused vacant land and parking lots — for battery storage. But the city hasn’t yet moved forward with any of these sites.
There are other untapped opportunities to fund parks, libraries, and other vital services that often get shortchanged in budget negotiations. A targeted expansion of concessions in city parks would generate new recurring funds for parks at a time when their maintenance needs are growing but the mayor’s budget proposes a $33 million cut in parks funding. Additionally, a modest amount of infill housing on the 80 acres of parking lots and underutilized land on CUNY campuses would generate funds to expand vital economic mobility programs for CUNY students while adding much-needed housing.
These revenue options would not only help close this year’s budget gap; they would put the city in a much stronger position to weather the fiscal and economic challenges ahead, protect core city services, and address the affordability challenges that threaten the city’s competitiveness.
Bowles is executive director of the Center for an Urban Future. Fisher is a partner at Fisher Brothers Development.