Ex-Gov. Cuomo Proposes $20 Minimum Wage For NYC By 2027

NEW YORK CITY — Ex-governor Andrew Cuomo is proposing raising the minimum wage in New York City to $20 by 2027 if elected mayor next November.

Cuomo made the announcement on Wednesday at a campaign rally in Manhattan.

“The best way to combat affordability, the best way, is to raise wages,” Cuomo said. “Put more money in people’s pockets.”

New York recently raised the minimum wage to $16.50 an hour this year in New York City, Westchester, and Long Island. The minimum wage is $15.50 in the rest of the state

Cuomo said he would raise wages for roughly 800,000 workers in the city with the new rate being implemented on Jan. 1, 2027, the one-year mark of his first term if elected, according to the New York Times.

Under the proposal, the wage would not automatically continue to rise with the cost of living. Instead Cuomo has suggested a city study be completed by by Jan. 1, 2027, for potential further increases.

In addition, at the rally, he mentioned creating a tax credit for small businesses to help them adjust to the higher wage.

The credit would be available to businesses with 10 or fewer full-time employees and would cover up to 30 percent of the wage increase per employee — it would decrease over time, according to the report.

Other candidates for mayor, like Zohran Mamdani, have proposed raising the city’s minimum wage to $30 an hour by 2030.

His campaign criticized Cuomo’s proposal saying that the ex-governor is once again "asking working people to lower their expectations."