Happy Wednesday in New York, where Mayor Mamdani blinked first.

Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani have largely remained allies three months into the Mamdani Experience, but one major point of contention remains: taxing the rich. Mamdani insists that raising income taxes on the highest earners is necessary to close the cavernous gap in the city’s budget, which experts say sits at around $5.4 billion. Hochul, however, remains steadfastly opposed on the grounds that it would drive wealthy residents out of the state.

It’s a political chess match, and Mamdani made the first major gambit last month by vowing to raise property taxes on city residents if Hochul did not facilitate his “Tax the Rich” plan. It was widely viewed as an empty threat at the time, since property tax increases are so unpopular as to verge on political suicide. The last time a mayor tried to raise property taxes was 2003, when Michael Bloomberg raised them by 18.5% to address an emergency budget deficit following 9/11.

In the immediate aftermath of the announcement, Mamdani came under flak from allies and opponents on both sides of the political spectrum, especially Black voters who would bear the brunt of the higher property tax bills. Now, the New York Times reports that Mamdani has all but given up on the idea and is instead pursuing other means to close the deficit. “I don’t think he wants to raise property taxes,” Leroy Comrie, a State Senator from Queens, told the Times. “He knows that it will hurt minority communities the most.”

Still, the mayor has gained some powerful allies in the push to raise taxes on the wealthy, a plan which he consistently pitched during his election campaign as the key to funding his lofty progressive agenda. A 22-person faction of the City Council called on the governor to pass the Fair Share Act, which would raise income taxes on millionaires by 2%. Additionally, both chambers of the State Legislature — the Senate and Assembly — included tax increases on wealthy New Yorkers in their preliminary budget proposals earlier this month. 

With city and state budget negotiation deadlines just around the corner, this isn’t likely to be either player’s final move before the match is over.

In the heart of Brooklyn’s Cultural District, Mark Morris Dance Center sits across the street from Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). In 1984, Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG) performed on BAM’s stage for the first time, and this month, the group returns for two New York premieres.

“It’s easily one of the very best theaters in greater New York, absolutely without question,” noted choreographer, Artistic Director and Founder Mark Morris, who praised the institution for “perpetuating the very, very important classical points of view — by that I mean opera and theater and dance and film.”

Learn more about the Mark Morris Dance Group and the shows in the upcoming season.

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