The democratic socialist promised free childcare, fast buses and a rent freeze – can he deliver before New Yorkers lose patience?
The democratic socialist promised free childcare, fast buses and a rent freeze – can he deliver before New Yorkers lose patience?
After more than a year of repeating ambitious promises about freezing rent and making childcare free, Zohran Mamdani will wake on Wednesday with a daunting task ahead of him: make those things reality for New York City.
The 34-year-old democratic socialist ran New York’s most ambitious mayoral campaign in years, attracting hundreds of thousands of supporters with bold promises to make the largest US city affordable.
It was a campaign that made Mamdani a global sensation and invigorated many New Yorkers like never before, attracting almost 100,000 volunteers. Mamdani rejuvenated the left beyond New York’s borders, encouraging other progressives to run for office across the US, and could yet influence the Democratic party ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
The flip side, however, is clear: the residents of New York have had their hopes set incredibly high, and now Mamdani has to deliver.
That will begin in January, when Mamdani takes residence in Gracie Mansion, the sprawling official mayoral residence on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, but in the immediate term, he can celebrate giving many New Yorkers something lacking under the scandal-strewn reign of Eric Adams, the incumbent mayor.
“I think for New Yorkers, it is a small light in what has been an overwhelming era of darkness,” said Usamah Andrabi, communications director at the progressive Justice Democrats organization.
It’s been a light for others too. More than 10,000 people signed up with the leftwing organization Run for Something in the two months after Mamdani won the Democratic primary, each with an interest in running their own insurgent campaign. In New York, Mamdani’s accessible, social media-friendly campaign captivated young and first-time voters – officials say the city saw its largest-ever turnout for early voters in a non-presidential election.
