After a fierce race full of intense campaigning, bitter fighting, and sensational scandal, Zohran Mamdani was elected on Nov. 4 to be the next mayor of New York City. The 34 year-old Democratic Socialist will be the youngest mayor in over a century, and the city’s first muslim mayor. Winning a slim majority of the vote – 50.4% – Mamdani secured a strong victory against former governor Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa, the founder of crime prevention group “The Guardian Angels.”

Mamdani campaigned heavily on affordability, with policies such as making bus fares free, universal free childcare, city run grocery stores, and freezing rent for more than 1 million rent-stabilized tenants. However, his ambitious plans face some obstacles from within his own party. “I cannot set forth a plan right now that takes money out of a system that relies on the fares of the buses and the subways,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said at a conference in Puerto Rico, but can we find a path to make it more affordable for people who need help? Of course we can.” While Governor Hochul expressed her reservations with free busses for all, she did support making busses free for low-income individuals

To accomplish his ambitious plans, the mayor-elect would need to greatly increase tax revenues to a level that his critics say is unrealistic. The most expensive policy – universal free childcare – would cost around $6 billion according to The New York Times’s estimates. His other policies would bring the total bill up to a little under $7 billion. To afford these, Mamdani proposed raising city taxes, an income tax applied to residents of New York City, by 2% on people earning more than $1 million. He also proposed raising the maximum corporate tax rate from 7.25% to 11.5%. Governor Hochul has argued against the policy reasoning that tax hikes, especially to income taxes, which are already the highest in the nation, could cause businesses to leave the state. With the help of the city council, though, he would have the power to enforce collection on the city’s unpaid fines along with hiring more tax auditors, plans which he claims could raise around $1 billion.

While many of Mamdani’s more expensive policies would need approval from the state legislature and the governor, the mayor’s office has some exclusive power of its own. More specifically, the Rent Guidelines Board. The mayor has the sole power to appoint members to the board, which then chooses the maximum rent increase for more than 1 million rent-stabilized apartments in the city. The terms of several members of the board will be running out shortly, and Mamdani has said he wants to replace them with people supportive of his vision for a rent freeze.

Since his victory, Mamdani has spent his time assembling his transition team and appointing his top advisors. Contrasting his youth and relative inexperience compared to previous mayors, he has tapped numerous political veterans to serve in his administration. His transition team, for example, includes one of mayor Eric Adam’s first deputy mayors, the head of the New York chapter of the nonprofit United Way, a previous deputy mayor for health and human services, and most unexpectedly of all Lina Khan, the chair of the Federal Trade Commission under former President Joe Biden. Mamdani also announced his pick for deputy mayor as Dean Fuleihan, a political veteran who has previously served as deputy mayor under former mayor Bill De Blasio, and later as a member of the New York State Financial Control Board.

Throughout the campaign, candidates embraced the modern social media landscape. Mamdani’s strategy of low-polish, on the street videos proved to be a winner, possibly attracting many young people to turn out to vote at record levels. It proved effective enough, in fact, that Mamdani’s main competitor Andrew Cuomo began to co-opt the style following his defeat in democratic primary. The runner-up, Curtis Sliwa, found his own way to enchant the masses by sharing stories of his storied and dramatic life. His most viral moment was during the first debate when he was asked whether he rides a taxi or uses rideshare apps. “I try to avoid yellow cabs,” Sliwa said, “As you know, I was shot five times in the back of a yellow cab in 1992 by the Gottis and Gambinos.” Along with similarly striking moments, including but not limited to the 16 cats he keeps in his 320 square foot apartment, he inspired a cult-following among young people on apps like Instagram and TikTok.

While Mamdami has made large promises, only time will tell whether he can work with the state legislature, city council, and governor in order to achieve his goals.

Article by Oscar Guillemin