Mayor Zohran Mamdani pictured signing three of his first 5 govt orders aimed toward tackling town’s housing disaster throughout a press convention at an house constructing in Brooklyn
Picture by Michael Appleton/Mayoral Images Workplace
It’s Thursday, Jan. 1, the primary day of Zohran Mamdani’s time period as mayor. New York News is following Mamdani round his first 100 days in workplace as we intently monitor 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 in the present day.
After a rousing, populist inauguration speech Thursday afternoon by which New York Metropolis’s new mayor promised to rule “audaciously” for all New Yorkers whereas remaining true to his democratic socialist roots, Zohran Mamdani moved decisively to mark a brand new period in metropolis governance.
Upon formally changing into mayor at midnight, Mamdani wasted no time in appointing Mike Flynn as his Division of Transportation commissioner. With the celebration of inauguration behind him Thursday night, Mamdani stayed on the job — reviving a mothballed workplace targeted on tenants’ rights and appointing somebody to steer it; reorganizing and formalizing his management workforce’s tasks; and creating two new activity forces aimed toward making housing extra inexpensive citywide.
Mamdani additionally revoked a sequence of govt orders issued by former Mayor Eric Adams after Sept. 26, 2024 – the date he was federally indicted.
These revoked orders that former Mayor Adams issued embody barring metropolis officers and appointees from discriminating towards Israel, which many noticed as a solution to “Mamdani-proof” metropolis investments from any potential revocation from the brand new mayor, who has been extremely important of the Israeli authorities and beforehand supported the Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) motion.
One other revoked order directed Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch to judge proposals for regulating protests close to homes of worship. That order got here
Mamdani’s govt order preserved orders that Adams signed previous to Sept. 26, 2024, that have been nonetheless in impact on the finish of Adams’ time period – together with one order that established the Workplace to Fight Antisemitism.
Mamdani signed 4 new orders targeted on reorganizing the mayor’s senior management workforce, revitalizing the Mayor’s Workplace to Defend Tenants, and launching two new activity forces designed to expedite housing building and scale back bureaucratic delays.
“Today marks the first step in building an administration that works for all New Yorkers,” Mamdani mentioned in a press release. “We’ve established the foundations of it, and now it’s time to deliver on our affordability agenda, tackle the challenges facing New Yorkers, and usher in a new era for New York City — one that proves that government can deliver for working people.”
Affordability: Mamdani revitalizes Workplace to Defend Tenants
Mayor Mamdani appointed Cea Weaver, a nationally acknowledged tenant organizer and housing advocate, to steer the workplace throughout a press convention at a Pinnacle Realty–owned constructing in Brooklyn because the mayor introduced town would intervene within the landlord’s chapter proceedings.
The Mayor’s Workplace to Defend Tenants, which can function a central coordinating physique to defend tenants’ rights, confront negligent landlords, and push metropolis companies to behave extra rapidly on unsafe or unlawful housing situations.
The Mamdani administration acknowledged that Pinnacle has been cited for hundreds of housing violations and complaints throughout dozens of buildings. Metropolis officers town is looking for speedy aid to enhance situations and scale back the chance of tenant displacement, an intervention Mamdani described as an unprecedented step on behalf of renters.
Mamdani pictured touring the Pinnacle Realty owned house buildingPhoto by Michael Appleton/Mayoral Images Workplace
Along with the tenant workplace overhaul, Mamdani signed govt orders creating two housing-focused activity forces. The LIFT Activity Drive — quick for Land Stock Quick Observe — will overview city-owned properties and determine websites appropriate for housing improvement by July 1, 2026. The SPEED Activity Drive, or Streamlining Procedures to Expedite Equitable Growth, will work to determine and take away allowing and bureaucratic obstacles that gradual building and delay lease-ups.
Each activity forces can be overseen by Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Bozorg, with the SPEED Activity Drive additionally co-led by Deputy Mayor of Operations Julia Kerson.
Governing: Mamdani resets Metropolis Corridor operations
Mamdani additionally used his first day to reset Metropolis Corridor’s inside operations, establishing the construction of the brand new administration, formalizing the 5 deputy mayors’ roles and appointing senior management, together with Dean Fuleihan as the primary deputy mayor and Julia Su as deputy mayor of financial justice.
One govt order revoked all prior mayoral govt orders issued on or after Sept. 26, 2024. Mamdani mentioned the orders issued after that date “time and time again come up against the interests of working-class people and what they need from their mayor,” however emphasised that important places of work, together with the Workplace to Fight Antisemitism, can be retained, with the administration dedicated to “not only protecting Jewish New Yorkers, but to celebrate and cherish them.”
When requested about why he selected the date that Adams federally indicted, Mamdani mentioned the date “marked a moment when many New Yorkers decided that politics held nothing for them but more of the same,” and that his administration is “showcasing…how we will stand alongside the New Yorkers who have been left behind, but also the structures we will create such that New Yorkers…can know the truth of that commitment.”
