NEW YORK, NY — Joseph Hernandez, Republican candidate for New York State Comptroller, today warned that New York City is heading toward a fiscal crisis after multiple major bond rating agencies issued dire warnings about the city’s financial outlook under its current budget trajectory.
Recently three of the four major credit rating agencies, including Moody’s, Fitch, and Kroll, have now issued negative outlooks on New York City’s finances, signaling a growing risk of a downgrade if current policies continue.
Hernandez said the warnings are a direct result of what he called Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s “socialist approach to budgeting,” built on excessive spending, unrealistic promises, and a dangerous reliance on draining reserves totaling $127 billion.
“A downgrade here would mean higher borrowing costs, fewer resources for essential services, and more pressure on already overtaxed New Yorkers,” Hernandez said. “And it won’t be Mayor Mamdani or other politicians who pay the price, it will be working New Yorkers.”
Hernandez also criticized the broader failure of oversight that has allowed these policies to gain traction without serious financial scrutiny.
“For too long, politicians like Mamdani have been allowed to make sweeping promises with no accountability and no consequences,” Hernandez said. “That ends when there is a Comptroller willing to actually follow the money.”
Hernandez promised that if elected Comptroller, he would keep Mamdani in check utilizing aggressive, independent audits of the city’s spending, publicly report on long-term risks to taxpayers before crises occur, and refer cases of mismanagement of funds for further investigation.
“You cannot tax, spend, and borrow your way into prosperity,” Hernandez continued. “New York is already one of the highest-taxed states in the country, and now we have politicians pushing a socialist wish list that threatens our financial stability.”
Hernandez warned that the credit agencies’ actions should serve as a wake-up call for voters.
“This is not a partisan talking point, it’s the financial world sounding the alarm,” Hernandez said. “If we stay on this path, New York City risks becoming a cautionary tale of what happens when fiscal responsibility is abandoned.”