Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is already facing a hurdle to his freebie-filled agenda with a projected $2.18 billion budget shortfall -- with bigger funding gaps possible in the years ahead, a new report said.

The hearing exploits a legal wrinkle to effectively put the salary jump on the Council's plate for 2026 -- and potentially make it one of Zohran Mamdani's first decisions as mayor.