It Could Happen Here Tax the Rich Takes the New York Capitol
Mar 3, 2026
Chi Osei, New York City Councilman organizing the Albany rally to push taxes on millionaires. Liz Stevenson, City Tech academic advisor and PSC CUNY member advocating more funding for public higher education. They describe the rally atmosphere, the march into the Capitol, the Repair Act to tax private universities, and urgent budget fights over millionaire and corporate levies.
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Victory Organizing Shifted To Albany Pressure
- Grassroots organizers moved quickly from electoral victory to policy pressure by staging a thousand-person Albany rally asking the state to tax the wealthy.
- The action bundled unions, immigrant justice groups, and Our Time to push a coordinated Albany march and in-person lobbying at the Capitol.
Mamdani Chose Governance Over Confrontation
- Mayor Zoran Mamdani prioritized governing and building a working relationship with Governor Hochul instead of public confrontation.
- Organizers spun Mamdani's campaign apparatus into Our Time to keep pressure while maintaining institutional cooperation.
Hidden Deficit Forced Tough Budget Choices
- New York City revealed a hidden $12 billion deficit left by the previous mayor that shrank to $5.5 billion after state aid and savings.
- The preliminary budget proposes a 2% tax on millionaires and a corporate levy versus raiding reserves or raising property taxes 9.5%.