Bernie Sanders Rallies Bronx Crowd, Urges Hochul to Tax the Wealthy

Governor Kathy Hochul has called a millionaire surtax a non-starter. Bernie Sanders spent Sunday at Lehman College in the Bronx making the case that she's wrong, with a state budget deadline three days away and a coalition of nurses, faculty, autoworkers, and socialists standing behind him.

The Vermont senator headlined a "Tax the Rich" rally organized by NYC-DSA at the Bronx campus, joining representatives from the New York State Nurses Association, PSC-CUNY, United Auto Workers, Jews For Racial & Economic Justice, DRUM (Desis Rising Up and Moving), New York Communities for Change, Invest In Our New York, and Jacobin magazine. Filmmaker and comedian Julio Torres MC'd the event, which drew participants to 250 Bedford Park Blvd West just days before Albany faces its April 1 budget deadline.

At issue: a state legislative proposal to impose a surtax on New York City's wealthiest residents and corporations. Because New York City income tax rates are ultimately controlled by the state, the surtax requires Albany's approval. Hochul has long said increased taxes are a non-starter, and she has not changed her position despite mounting pressure from Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who campaigned on raising taxes on millionaires. Sanders came to the Bronx to amplify Mamdani's push; Mamdani was not at the rally.

"Senator Sanders' involvement shows that New York's budget fight isn't just a local issue," said NYC-DSA Co-Chair Grace Mausser. "Governor Hochul has a chance to stand up to Trump while backing the working class, and she can do that by taxing the rich."

If the surtax fails in Albany, Mamdani has indicated he will find budget revenue by raising real estate tax rates instead, a move that would shift the fiscal weight from income to property.

The Bronx rally coincided with Sanders and Representative Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) introducing the "Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act" in Washington. Sanders, the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and Khanna proposed a 5% annual wealth tax on U.S. individuals with a net worth of at least $1 billion. In its first year, the bill would provide a $3,000 direct payment to every person in households earning $150,000 or less. Remaining funds would go toward reversing $1.1 trillion in Medicaid and Affordable Care Act cuts from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that President Trump signed in July, expanding Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing benefits, and building or rehabilitating more than seven million affordable homes.

Critics of the New York proposal have warned that millionaires could leave the city if higher taxes are imposed. Supporters counter with data from states like Massachusetts suggesting that millionaire mobility is relatively low and that revenue gains are real.

Hochul's position puts her between donor networks opposed to higher taxes and a national progressive coalition that now includes the country's most recognizable democratic socialist. With the budget due Tuesday, the pressure that landed at Lehman College is not done traveling north to Albany.