Mamdani Flags $12 Billion Budget Gap as Eric Adams Battles Meme Coin Criticism

In a press conference on Wednesday, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that the city faced a $12 billion budget shortfall over the next two fiscal years. Mamdami largely blamed former Mayor Eric Adams for chronically underbudgeting essential services.

Adams swiftly pushed back on social media, arguing that his administration left $8 billion in reserves. The clash came less than two weeks after Adams launched a meme coin that caused over 60% of traders to lose money.

Mamdani Blames Adams for Fiscal Crisis

In preparation for Fiscal Years 2026 and 2027, Mamdani’s office held a press conference to discuss what it called the “Adams’ Budget Crisis.”

At its core, the message emphasized the city’s tight fiscal constraints in the coming years. Mamdani placed responsibility on Adams, arguing that the crisis stemmed from a long-standing pattern of underfunding essential services, including rental assistance, shelter operations, and special education.

“That imbalance has hollowed out our city’s finances and left us with a chasm that can no longer be sustained,” Mamdani said. He added that the fiscal crisis represented a scale greater than the Great Recession. 

Mamdani provided specific examples. According to the Mayor’s office, for Fiscal Year 2026, Adams budgeted $860 million for cash assistance, though current projections indicate the costs to be nearly $1.7 billion.

“Knowing his time in office was likely coming to an end, Mayor Adams chose political self-preservation over fiscal responsibility. This is not just bad governance. It is negligence,” he said.

The Mayor also criticized former Governor Andrew Cuomo for systemically draining money from New York City. Mamdani cited a recent report by the CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance. 

According to the report, between 2021 and 222, New York City contributed 54.5%, or $68.8 billion, of state revenues and received only 40.5%, or $47.6 billion, of State funding. 

Cuomo did not respond to the accusations, while Adams did.

Adams Denies Budget Shortfall Claims

Adams rejected the claims Mamdani made against him on the social media platform X.

“I didn’t leave a ‘budget hole.’ I left over $8 BILLION in reserves. Only someone who can’t read a balance sheet would call that a crisis,” Adams wrote, adding, “Every budget passed under my administration was approved by the City Council, including Mayor Mamdani’s City Council comrades.”

The disclosure of the city’s financial challenges came less than a month after Adams left office. Since then, the former mayor has focused on raising awareness about what he described as “rising antisemitism and anti-American” sentiment in the United States.

As part of that effort, Adams recently created a token which quickly drew scrutiny from observers who noted similarities to past meme coin controversies.

NYC Token Losses Deepen Public Scrutiny

On January 12, Adams made a high-profile entry into the crypto space with the launch of his own token, NYC.

The rollout, however, led to significant losses for most traders, resembling a classic rug pull. NYC briefly surged to a market capitalization of $600 million before collapsing to below $100,000.

A subsequent analysis by blockchain analytics platform Bubblemaps found that a wallet linked to the token’s deployer withdrew approximately $2.5 million in USDC from the liquidity pool supporting trading, just as NYC’s price peaked.

After the token’s price fell by more than 60%, the project’s creators reintroduced $1.5 million worth of tokens into the pool. The move, however, failed to stabilize the price.

Bubblemaps later reported that 60% of the 4,300 traders who invested in the token suffered losses. More than half lost less than $1,000, while others faced more substantial losses, with 15 traders losing over $100,000.

Amid growing scrutiny, a spokesperson for Adams issued a statement denying that the token’s launch was intended for personal or financial gain.

Since then, Adams has continued to publicly promote the NYC Token. 

As the budget debate with Mamdani’s office unfolds, Adams’ defense of his record has become increasingly entangled with questions surrounding his meme coin launch.