Tuesday, March 17, marked the 76th day of Zohran Mamdani’s time period as mayor. New York News is following Mamdani round his first 100 days in workplace. We’re carefully monitoring his progress on fulfilling marketing campaign guarantees, appointing key leaders to authorities posts, and managing town’s funds. Right here’s a abstract of what the mayor did.
On his first St. Patrick’s Day as mayor, Zohran Mamdani moved from avoiding the query of Irish unity to adopting a extra sympathetic formulation on it — after Transport Staff Union President John Samuelsen, a key labor ally, pressed him over breakfast at Gracie Mansion, the place the mayor additionally tied Irish solidarity to Palestine.
Mamdani didn’t endorse reunification outright. However after saying a day earlier that he had “not thought a lot about” whether or not he helps a united Eire, he instructed reporters earlier than Tuesday’s parade that he backs extending “the principle of self-determination” to the Irish.
Samuelsen later stated that the language got here immediately from their breakfast dialog, during which he urged Mamdani to view the difficulty by the lens of the Good Friday Settlement and the concept that Irish unification must be determined by the need of the folks. For Samuelsen, the difficulty of Irish unity goes past parade-season ethnic politics and lies throughout the similar custom of employee justice and Irish republican politics that formed the TWU itself.
“I use the word self-determination with him. He didn’t use that word,” Samuelsen instructed New York News Tuesday afternoon.
On March 13, Mamdani had appeared at Samuelsen’s James Connolly Irish American Labor Coalition luncheon, the place he quoted Connolly, an Irish revolutionary and commerce unionist, in a means that led Sinn Féin figures in attendance to consider he was sympathetic to their push for reunification. His reservations on commenting on the nationwide problem for Eire set an agenda for Samuelsen going into the breakfast, the place he was sat subsequent to the brand new mayor.
Even after the shift, Mamdani stopped wanting explicitly backing reunification. That set him other than Gov. Kathy Hochul, who, earlier than the parade, was requested whether or not she helps a united Eire and answered, “Indeed, I do.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks with reporters earlier than the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Picture by Dean Moses
For Samuelsen, although, Hochul’s reply doesn’t outweigh the union’s bigger struggle together with her over subway conductors. The TWU’s St. Patrick’s Day advert casts Hochul as “our snake of a governor,” centering on her opposition to requiring two-person prepare crews. Hochul vetoed that invoice in December, arguing it could add prices and prohibit modernization, whereas the TWU says conductors are important for rider security and has warned that administration may attempt to eradicate these jobs in future bargaining.
Former Metropolis Council Member Justin Brannan — a longtime supporter of Irish unity, a former member of the Council’s Irish caucus, and an ally of Mamdani — stated he was not stunned by Samuelsen’s persuasion efforts with the mayor.
“Spend 15 minutes with Samuelsen, and he’ll have you quoting Bobby Sands and Gerry Adams,” Brannan instructed New York News after attending the TWU’s St. Patrick’s Day breakfast Tuesday morning.
Mayor Mamdani finds ally on Palestine in former Irish president
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is flanked by TWU President John Samuelsen and former Irish President Mary Robinson on the Gracie Mansion St. Patrick’s Day breakfast on Tuesday, March 17, 2026Photo by Ed Reed/Mayoral Images Workplace
Mamdani’s shift on Irish unity was solely one among a number of politically important moments on a St. Patrick’s Day that turned greater than a ceremonial cease on the mayoral calendar.
Over the course of the morning, he honored former Irish President Mary Robinson at Gracie Mansion, linked Irish historical past to solidarity with Palestinians, attended Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral with Robinson seated prominently beside him, after which marched within the parade — stopping alongside the path to greet Archbishop Ronald Hicks after lacking Hicks’ set up Mass final month.
At breakfast, Mamdani offered Robinson with a proclamation and solid her as a mannequin of ethical braveness and political solidarity. He praised her report on human rights, ladies’s rights, local weather and LGBTQ rights, and singled out her help for Palestinians.
In one of many morning’s most pointed moments, Mamdani stated that because the world watched “a genocide unfold before our eyes,” Robinson had not joined the “deafening silence” that, he stated, so typically meets Palestinian struggling. He framed that solidarity as distinctly Irish.
In his remarks, Mamdani stated Irish historical past in each Eire and New York was a narrative of oppression, discrimination and wrestle, but additionally one among resistance. He pointed to the best way Irish immigrants had been as soon as met with “Irish Need Not Apply” indicators in the US and argued that the expertise of struggling had helped form a practice of standing with different oppressed folks.
Robinson’s personal speech struck an analogous ethical register, although in broader phrases. She stated St. Patrick’s Day is understood all over the world as a celebration of Irish tradition, music and laughter, however added that the Irish additionally know “how to hold joy in one hand and sorrow in the other.” She spoke about conflict and struggling in locations together with Palestine, Ukraine and Sudan, stated many Irish folks hear echoes of their very own historical past within the struggling of others, and urged listeners to decide on group over division.
Robinson additionally referred to as for “the deeper moral courage to stand on the side of peace, defend human dignity and resolutely refuse despair.”
Mamdani presents former Irish President Mary Robinson with a proclamation on the Gracie Mansion St. Patrick’s Day breakfastPhoto by Ed Reed/Mayoral Images Workplace
These breakfast remarks rapidly turned a goal for the Catholic League, whose president, Invoice Donohue, accused Mamdani of politicizing the vacation and “hijacking” St. Patrick’s Day, saying he “couldn’t resist bringing his politics to bear” on the annual breakfast. Donohue, a long-time critic of the mayor, additionally attacked Robinson, describing her as a leftist and criticizing her views on Israel and the Catholic Church.
The assertion landed in a broader context of rigidity between Mamdani and a few Catholic conservatives. The day earlier than St. Patrick’s Day, Donohue had questioned whether or not Mamdani would participate within the parade in any respect. In follow, the mayor’s workplace had not but launched his public schedule, and Mamdani confirmed his plans solely when requested immediately at a press convention Monday afternoon.
Mamdani goes to Mass, shakes arms with Archbishop Hicks
After breakfast, Mamdani went to St. Patrick’s Cathedral for Mass, the place Robinson — the visitor of honor at Gracie Mansion — was seated entrance and heart with him.
The looks was essential to Mamdani, as he had skipped Hicks’ set up Mass, breaking with current mayoral precedent and drawing criticism from Catholic voices. He later marched within the parade alongside Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and stopped alongside the path to shake Hicks’ hand, additional underscoring his return to a set of traditions that had come underneath scrutiny within the lead-up to the day.
At a press huddle earlier than the parade, Mamdani described a gathering with Hicks the day before today as “truly a joy.” He stated the 2 had mirrored on starting their management journeys in New York at roughly the identical time and that he had spoken to Hicks about drawing inspiration from scripture’s concern for “the cause of the widow, on the cause of the orphan, on the cause of the stranger.”
Mamdani additionally praised Catholic New Yorkers extra broadly and described Hicks as somebody who may encourage not solely Catholics however New Yorkers throughout the 5 boroughs.
Mamdani shakes arms with Archbishop Ronald Hicks exterior St. Patrick’s Cathedral throughout a parade pit cease Picture by Dean Moses
Policing: Physique-cam coverage replace
After marching a part of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade with Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Mayor Mamdani peeled away to attend Archbishop Ronald Hicks’ luncheon. Later within the day, he and Tisch turned that public present of alignment into coverage, asserting that the NYPD had formally codified its 30-day body-camera launch rule for essential incidents.
In line with Metropolis Corridor and the division, that follow had already been usually adopted throughout Tisch’s tenure, however it should now be a proper departmental requirement slightly than an off-the-cuff customary.
Below the coverage, the 30-day launch requirement applies to incidents involving the discharge of a firearm by an officer that ends in a member of the general public being struck, in addition to police makes use of of pressure that lead to severe harm or dying. The coverage additionally offers the police commissioner discretion to authorize the discharge of body-worn digital camera footage in different circumstances if doing so would assist keep public order or contribute to public security.
In a press release, Mamdani framed the transfer as a part of a broader transparency agenda. “Transparency and accountability are the building blocks of public safety,” he stated. “By codifying the timely release of body-worn camera footage, we are ensuring that New Yorkers receive timely information about critical incidents. This policy builds public trust and ensures our city receives answers while protecting the integrity of investigations.”
Tisch struck an analogous be aware, describing the formalization of the coverage as an extension of her personal public dedication to openness round police conduct. “Transparency is the key to maintaining trust between police and the communities we protect and serve,” she stated in a press release. “Body-worn cameras provide clear and objective accounts of interactions involving the NYPD, showing the dangerous and difficult situations that officers often face while also ensuring we hold ourselves accountable when standards are not met.”
The division stated the body-worn digital camera program is the biggest within the nation and now covers greater than 29,500 officers. Uniformed members serving under the rank of deputy inspector are required to put on the cameras, and officers are required to activate them earlier than taking police motion. This system itself was launched and carried out when Tisch beforehand served because the NYPD’s deputy commissioner for data expertise.
