Mayor Zohran Mamdani gained Metropolis Corridor on a pledge to make New York Metropolis extra livable and reasonably priced.
His guarantees of a hire freeze for stabilized tenants, no-cost common childcare, and quick and free buses resonated with greater than one million voters — and created big expectations in a metropolis hungry for change.
It’ll take greater than 100 days to rework New York Metropolis’s housing, transit and public security, however the democratic socialist has discovered unlikely allies.
Mamdani met with President Donald Trump — who has referred to as him “my little Communist” — for the second time in February, the place Trump was receptive to the mayor’s pitch for federal cash for a large, beforehand deserted housing improvement plan for the Sunnyside Yards in Queens. (He additionally persuaded the president to launch college students and others detained by ICE.)
Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani heads into the 4-5 Wall Avenue station after a marketing campaign occasion, June 10, 2025. Credit score: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
In Albany, Gov. Kathy Hochul offered state cash for a free childcare pilot — however has refused Mamdani’s push to boost taxes on the rich.
The brand new mayor has confronted challenges in his pivot from marketing campaign to governing, from a gaping funds gap that threatens his affordability agenda to subzero temperatures that left 19 New Yorkers lifeless of hypothermia.
In a metropolis that may swiftly activate its mayors, Mamdani’s reputation seems to have dipped since a late February ballot from Siena College had his approval ranking at 63%.
A Marist Ballot launched this week discovered the mayor’s approval at 48% — though 60% of polled New Yorkers felt he was fulfilling his marketing campaign guarantees, and 56% stated the town was shifting in the correct course.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani greets New Yorkers at morning prayer in Prospect Park, March 20, 2026. Credit score: Katie Honan/THE CITY
“I will always leave the grades to New Yorkers themselves,” the mayor stated when requested about the newest ballot.
The primary few months of the Mamdani’s mayoralty have been a vital reply to critics who stated the 34-year-old was all flash and no substance, stated Tess McCrae, chief working officer for political consultants The Parkside Group.
“I think he has a lot of goodwill from most New Yorkers and I don’t think he’s abused that good will,” McCrae said. “He hasn’t gotten the free buses or the tent poles that were so much a part of his campaign, but I think most people understand that takes time.”
Right here’s the place a few of Mamdani’s largest initiatives stand:
Quick, Free Buses
Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks inside an MTA bus on the West depot within the Bronx about offering free service, Feb. 13, 2026. Credit score: Alex Krales/THE CITY
As a longshot candidate, Mamdani pledged to hurry buses which are among the many slowest within the nation — and to make them free. MTA officers have questioned the “free” a part of his “fast and free” slogan.
“We are working with the city to do fast — that discussion is well underway and I credit the new DOT team and the mayor and the mayor’s team for stepping up on that,” Janno Lieber, MTA chairperson and chief government, instructed the Metropolis Council. “So, let’s get going in doing fast. We have a lot of questions relevant to the second half of that sentence.”
A examine of a free bus pilot program on a number of routes that led to 2024 discovered that fare-free service didn’t enhance speeds.
“I think the key thing that everybody was looking at was: ‘Will this make buses run faster?’” MTA coverage chief John McCarthy stated. “And it didn’t.”
Mamdani instructed Politico this week the is “absolutely committed to making buses fast and free,” whereas acknowledging it gained’t occur this yr.
Freezing the Hire
Members of a tenant advocacy group chant “Freeze the Rent!” and “Mamdani” on the Hire Tips Board listening to, June 30, 2025. Credit score: Alex Krales/ THE CITY
Mamdani promised to freeze the rents of tenants dwelling within the metropolis’s almost a million stabilized flats. The mayor appointed six of the 9 members of the unbiased Hire Tips Board, who’ve formally begun a course of that would lead to no hire hike for the primary time since 2021. A vote on a attainable improve is predicted in June.
Mamdani’s administration additionally hosted rental rip-off hearings, the place tenants may vent to metropolis officers about their awful landlords. A report, together with Mamdani’s plan to handle the housing disaster, is forthcoming, officers say.
Free Childcare
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul announce a plan to ship free baby take care of 2-year-olds in New York Metropolis, along with strengthening the present 3-Okay program, in Flatbush, Brooklyn, Jan. 8, 2026. Credit score: Ed Reed/Mayoral Images Workplace
Mamdani notched an early win solely every week after taking workplace when Gov. Hochul dedicated funding for 2 years of a free childcare program for 2-year-olds in New York Metropolis. This system will start within the fall, with 2,000 seats for toddlers in Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn and The Bronx, increasing to 12,000 seats in its second yr. How the following years of the 2-Care program will likely be funded, although, stays unclear.
Homelessness
Mamdani campaigned on a dedication to develop the city-funded rental voucher program, often called CityFHEPS, according to legal guidelines the Metropolis Council handed in 2023. As mayor, Mamdani has walked away from that promise.
An indication directs folks to the doorway of a Division of Homeless Providers-run shelter. Credit score: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
These legal guidelines would make extra New Yorkers eligible for the rental subsidy, which covers two-thirds of the hire paid by about 68,000 tenants. Mayor Eric Adams declined to implement the brand new necessities — which might have added an estimated $1 billion in prices by 2030 — and challenged the Metropolis Council measure in court docket.
Mamdani’s administration appealed a court docket order directing the town to implement the legal guidelines, whereas indicating openness to compromise with the Council and housing advocates.
This motion didn’t endear Mamdani to advocates for the homeless — particularly mixed with the mayor’s revival of the sweeps of homeless encampments, which he’d promised he wouldn’t do.
“The Mamdani administration has but to actually articulate a plan for a way it’s addressing homelessness and the housing disaster for terribly low earnings New Yorkers,” stated Alison Wilkey of the Coalition for the Homeless. “What we’ve seen is disappointing.”
Metropolis-owned Grocery Shops
Candidate Mamdani promised to open 5 city-owned grocery shops, one in every borough, in an effort to make meals extra reasonably priced. Mayor Mamdani devoted $70 million in his proposed funds for the duty. Jeanny Pak, the town Financial Improvement Company’s interim director, stated officers are engaged on the “public grocery plan.”
Balancing the Books
Mamdani faces a $5.4 billion funds gap, which he has referred to as a “poisoned chalice” from his predecessor.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani explains his preliminary funds throughout a Metropolis Corridor press convention, Feb. 17, 2026. Credit score: Alex Krales/THE CITY
To shut the hole, Mamdani threatened to boost property taxes if Gov. Hochul doesn’t improve taxes on the rich. The ultimatum didn’t go over effectively, particularly because the mayor hasn’t reformed the town’s wildly unequal property tax system — one other marketing campaign promise.
The mayor has ordered each metropolis company to search out financial savings to indicate they will rein in spending. In March, he introduced about $250 million of recognized cuts – effectively wanting the $1.7 billion he promised to slash. Price range director Sherif Soliman stated there’s extra to return.
Mamdani and the council are squared up for brutal funds negotiations. Initially of April, the council introduced their preliminary funds plan which they stated finds financial savings with out taking cash from reserves or elevating property taxes. The mayor referred to as it “unrealistic” and can result in slashed providers. The funds is legally required by June 30.
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