Cuomo Sweetens Pre-K Deal: "Whatever" Mayor Needs Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times A day after Mayor Bill de Blasio rebuffed his proposal to set aside $1.5 billion to pay for prekindergarten classes, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo came back on Wednesday with a new offer: a blank check. "Whatever he needs," Mr. Cuomo promised. As fast as he can phase in, we'll fund it. Long accustomed to deference from fellow New York Democrats, the governor is suddenly adjusting to a fresh and frustrating reality. As Mr. de Blasio begins his fourth week in office, he is sticking by his signature campaign plan to raise taxes on New York City's highest earners to pay for expanded prekindergarten. So Mr. Cuomo, facing a mayor unmoved by his opening offer, sharpened his argument, suggesting Mr. de Blasio's position was motivated by politics and would be unfair to smaller cities in the state that are not magnets for millionaires. In a 90-minute interview with reporters and editors at The New York Times, Mr. Cuomo committed himself to covering all of the costs for universal full-day prekindergarten as soon as New York City or any other school system in the state can prepare itself to spend the money, declaring, "We're very good at writing checks." He made clear that he did not expect the Legislature to approve Mr. de Blasio's tax increase. Mr. Cuomo seemed perplexed at why, a day after his $1.5 billion proposal, the mayor's revenue proposal was still relevant, asking, "Why do you need a tax for a service we're going to fully fund?" And as Mr. de Blasio's allies prepare to mount a campaign-style effort to lean on Albany lawmakers, Mr. Cuomo suggested that the mayor's interest in raising taxes was a matter of political symbolism, not revenue collection. "He's saying part of what he ran on is income inequality, and part of the answer to income inequality is taxing rich people," the governor said. That's what he's saying, and that's a political position - I understand that. I'm saying something else, which is when it comes to pre-K, we will pay for pre-K. Indeed, Mr. Cuomo predicted that even if New York City's prekindergarten program is awash in cash, Mr. de Blasio will keep asking for permission to raise taxes on the rich. "If it's not pre-K," Mr. Cuomo said, "it'll be something else." Told of the governor's comments, a spokeswoman for Mr. de Blasio affirmed the mayor's insistence on a special city tax for prekindergarten. "While we commend the governor for his proposal, we continue to believe that the fairest way to secure a dedicated, full five years of funding - that is not subject to the whims of Albany politics - is a modest tax on the wealthiest New Yorkers," the spokeswoman, Marti Adams, said in an email. Mr. Cuomo and Mr. de Blasio are Democrats who know each other well. Mr. Cuomo was Mr. de Blasio's boss for a time in the Clinton administration. On Wednesday, the governor said, "I don't have a better political friend than Bill de Blasio." But their political philosophies are now clashing with each other in the most public of ways. Mr. Cuomo, who will seek a second term in November, presented a package of tax cuts on Tuesday tailor-made for an election year, drawing accolades from business allies but dismay from liberal activists eager to spend more money on schools and other services. No one would have suspected Mr. de Blasio was at the lectern: In his budget address, Mr. Cuomo did not say the words "inequality" or "poverty." The words did not come up in his State of the State address either. The $1.5 billion that Mr. Cuomo proposed setting aside for expanding prekindergarten would be spread over five years, with $100 million available in the first year. His proposal immediately prompted questions about whether the money would be sufficient. Mr. de Blasio projected that his plan to expand full-day prekindergarten classes in New York City would cost about $340 million a year; a report last year by the Citizens Budget Commission estimated that the cost statewide would be $1.4 billion a year. In the interview, Mr. Cuomo seemed to borrow an issue from his rival in making the case against the proposed tax increase: inequality. Arguing that the state was the best source of money for expanding prekindergarten, the governor said he did not want to risk widening the gap between wealthy communities and poor ones by asking them to come up with their own revenue to pay for the expansion. "We want to do it statewide," Mr. Cuomo said. I don't want this just for New York City. I don't want just rich people, or rich cities, to be able to do it.