Affordability – for them.
One of socialist Zohran Mamdani’s first decisions as mayor could be whether to give himself and his City Council pals a big fat pay raise.
Councilwoman Nantasha Williams (D-Queens) pushed a bill Tuesday to bump pay for the city’s elected officials by more than 16%, with an eye to sending it to Mamdani’s desk after he’s sworn in as mayor on Jan. 1.
But the original plan for the bill had originally been to set up a speedy vote this month, before Mamdani took office – a maneuver council members had to scuttle when they realized city law blocked them from voting on the pay raises during the post-election lame-duck period.
The hasty, confused pay push raised eyebrows among many insiders, who gossiped that the City Council was either trying to pull an end run around the incoming mayor or spare him an embarrassing early decision.
“The only thing is I think they are worried that the mayor-elect won’t do it,” said Kalman Yeger, a Democratic state Assemblyman and former council member.
“They are afraid if they pass it in January and he’d have to veto. How does the mayor-elect justify it, saying the working man can’t afford milk? He can’t sign off to give them a $20,000 raise.”
The bill introduced by Williams is co-sponsored by 32 Council members, including prominent Mamdani allies Crystal Hudson (D-Brooklyn), Lincoln Restler (D-Brooklyn) and Chi A. Ossé (D-Brooklyn).
A well-placed source agreed the pay hike legislation puts Mamdani, who ran a campaign promising affordability for working-class New Yorkers, in a bind.
He can veto the bill or approve a law “making New York more affordable for the political class,” the source quipped.
The bill, if approved, would give council members their first raise in nearly a decade and swell their salary budget from $7.5 million to $8.8 million.
They’d see their salaries jump from $148,500 to $172,500.
The lawmakers wouldn’t be the only ones to benefit from the pay bumps — the potential new legislation would pad the paychecks of the mayor, public advocate and borough presidents.
Mamdani’s salary, as mayor, would get a bump from the current $258,750 to $300,500.
The city comptroller currently makes $210,000, the public advocate is paid $184,000 and borough presidents $180,000 — and each would get 16% bumps in pay under the plan.
The legislation comes after grousing by council members that their pay is stuck at levels set in 2016 – as other city employees have seen hikes.
Williams effectively took those behind-the-scenes gripes public when she moved to introduce the pay raise bill – a development first reported by the New York Daily News.
But her plan to set it up for a December vote was quashed when officials pointed out the city’s charter prohibits decisions on raises between Election Day and the New Year.
The legal wrinkle forced Williams to change tack and set it up for a hearing, which she argued would keep it alive in 2026.
“If we have a hearing on the bill this year, we don’t need a hearing on it next year. It’s pre-considered,” Williams told The Post Tuesday.
Asked if the council will pass the pay hike bill in January, Williams said, “That’s the goal.”
Outgoing City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who is leaving at the year’s end, blamed former Mayor Bill de Blasio and soon-to-leave Hizzoner Eric Adams for failing to act on pay.
When asked if the council should pass the bill, the speaker punted.
“I’m out of here. I’m out,” she said. “That’s something for the new members.”
Mamdani’s team didn’t return a request for comment.
