Overview
- He takes office on January 1 with plans for free bus service, expanded public childcare, and a rent freeze for stabilized apartments, which require state cooperation and new funding.
- Governor Kathy Hochul has voiced interest in childcare expansion but questioned eliminating bus fares, highlighting early state-level hurdles for the agenda.
- President Trump has attacked Mamdani’s politics and threatened to withhold federal funds or deploy the National Guard if city policies conflict with the administration’s stance.
- Mamdani won more than half the vote over Andrew Cuomo, becoming the city’s first Muslim mayor and the first of South Asian descent.
- Running as a democratic socialist, he proposed funding social programs with higher taxes on millionaires and businesses while building a youth-driven, multicultural campaign with significant Muslim backing and some Jewish support.