A Leaner, Smarter New York

My Promise to Never Raise Taxes and Return $15 Billion to Hard-Working New Yorkers

I am the only candidate in this race who has signed a written pledge to never raise taxes on New Yorkers. That is a solemn promise I intend to keep. But I plan to go further. My vision will not only hold the line on taxes—it will cut $15 billion in waste and return that money to the hard-working New Yorkers who make this city run, all without touching essential services.

The approach is straightforward: trim the fat, embrace technology, and make government operate with the same efficiency as the private sector. Having spent my career building data-driven companies and deploying AI to solve complex problems, I know these tools can transform the city’s budget.

In the first phase of reforms, we can immediately achieve $10.5 billion in annual savings. Consolidating administrative functions across the city’s 70+ agencies and eliminating duplicative executive positions will save roughly $3 billion a year. Upgrading city services with AI-driven platforms for permits, benefits, and case management will save another $2 billion while improving speed and service quality. Procurement reform through AI fraud detection and centralized bidding can cut at least $1.5 billion in excess spending. Reducing the city’s underutilized real estate footprint—by consolidating agencies, renegotiating leases, and selling unused buildings—adds another $1 billion. Deploying AI-driven fraud prevention in social programs can save $1.5 billion, while improving public works efficiency with better project management can reduce chronic overruns and save $1 billion more. A comprehensive audit of consulting contracts, which cost the city over $3 billion annually, can yield at least $500 million in savings.

The second phase builds on this foundation with an additional $4 to $6 billion in recurring annual savings. Reforming overtime practices in the NYPD and FDNY through smart scheduling and workforce planning can cut costs by as much as $1 billion. Modernizing pension and benefits systems for new hires and optimizing healthcare procurement can save another $500 million to $1 billion without affecting current retirees. Auditing Medicaid and hospital subsidies with AI-driven fraud detection can generate over $1 billion in savings, while streamlining education bureaucracy and redirecting funds to classrooms can produce up to $1 billion more. Reducing the city’s $1 billion in annual legal payouts with AI-based risk management can save $300 to $500 million, and improving energy efficiency in city facilities can reduce costs by another $250 to $500 million. Optimizing the city’s 30,000-vehicle fleet and moving public assistance processing to digital-first systems can generate hundreds of millions more in savings.

Combined, these reforms will produce between $14.5 and $16.5 billion in annual recurring savings. That translates into direct tax relief of approximately $4,688 per household—nearly $5,000 back into the pockets of New Yorkers every year. These are not campaign slogans but data-driven projections modeled after successful reforms in cities like Singapore and Tokyo and private-sector standards of efficiency.

New Yorkers are overtaxed, overburdened, and underserved. I am the only candidate who has pledged in writing to never raise taxes and the only one with a concrete plan to cut $15 billion in waste while improving services. With leadership and technology, we can make New York leaner, smarter, and more affordable—and return thousands of dollars each year to the people who keep this city alive.