Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas has welcomed news that Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul have reached an agreement that will see New York state allocate an additional $1.5 billion in operating expenses to New York City over two years to address the city’s ongoing fiscal challenges.
González-Rojas, in particular, praised Hochul and Mamdani for reaching an agreement to provide $60 million in health care funding previously covered by the city.
Hochul announced Monday that she is allocating additional funds to the city to combat a multi-billion-dollar budget gap, which Mamdani has blamed on the “gross fiscal mismanagement” of former Mayor Eric Adams.
Savings measures and positive Wall Street bonus projections have lowered the deficit from an initial $12 billion to $7 billion.
Hochul further cut that deficit on Monday, announcing $1 billion in state funds for fiscal year 2026 and another $510 million for fiscal year 2027.
The funding includes $510 million in recurring funding targeted towards costs that had shifted from the state to the city under past administrations, including approximately $300 million for youth programming, a restoration of $150 million in sales tax receipts and $60 million for public health.
González-Rojas, along with Council Member Lynn Schulman and state Sen. Gustavo Rivera, commended Hochul and Mamdani for reaching the agreement.
In particular, Gonzalález-Rojas and Rivera praised Hochul and Mamdani for restoring $60 million for public health funding in New York City.
González-Rojas and Rivera had co-sponsored legislation to install “long-overdue reforms” to Article 6 public health funding formulas.
Under Article 6 of the state’s Public Health Law, the state picks up the tab for roughly 36% of the cost of health care for every municipality in New York. However, New York City’s reimbursement rate was reduced from 36% to 20% in the 2019 state budget, creating a $90 million shortfall for the city.
González-Rojas and Rivera had introduced legislation to address this “inequity” and praised both Hochul and Mamdani for restoring $60 million of the $90 million in lost funding.
Schulman, the chair of the City Council’s Health Committee, also praised the mayor and the governor for the move, stating that the city has borne a disproportionate share of public health costs “for too long.” Schulman added that the recent funding announcement was a “critical step” toward addressing funding inequities.
“For far too long, our city has borne a disproportionate share of public health costs,” Schulman said. “(The) announcement of $1.5 billion in additional state operating support — including long-overdue progress on Article 6 — is a critical step toward correcting these inequities and strengthening our public health system.”
González-Rojas, on the other hand, said the $1.5 billion agreement marks a city-state partnership that New Yorkers deserve, adding that the agreement marks significant progress in addressing “inequities in Article 6 public health funding.”
“For years, our city has shouldered a disproportionate share of public health costs due to outdated reimbursement formulas,” González-Rojas said.
Rivera, meanwhile, added that the agreement will allow Mamdani to better protect the health and safety of New Yorkers.
A number of non-profits and health organizations also welcomed the announcement, including Sarah Ravenhall, executive director of the New York State Association of County Health Officials, who said the move corrected a “long-standing inequity” in the state’s public health system.
“At a time of significant uncertainty driven by federal Medicaid policy changes and ongoing fiscal pressures, this investment is a critical step toward strengthening public health infrastructure, protecting millions of residents and visitors, and safeguarding health across the entire state,” Ravenhall said in a statement.
