The new mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, recently gave his 100-day-in-office speech, letting New Yorkers know what he’s gotten done and how much more he has left on his agenda — all while announcing the first stages in his plan to create government-owned grocery stores across all five boroughs. It can be hard getting major policy shifts off the ground, but the first 100 days are critical to administrations from the local to the national level — the momentum from election day is critical to launch many of the most ambitious and sweeping reforms of a newly-elected official. So, let’s evaluate how far we’ve come as a city under the new mayor.
Throughout his campaign, Mamdani proposed dozens of reforms and policy initiatives, but outlined five major goals he had for his first term as mayor.
- Freezing the rent
Here, the mayor has faced some issues. Rent control is not technically under the purview of the mayor’s office. The mayor can take landlords to court and appoint members to the Rent Control Board, which controls the rents for rent-stabilized apartments throughout the city. So far, the Mamdani administration has taken landlords to court for neglect and bad faith dealings with renters, and this month won a historic $2.1 million case against a Bronx landlord for noncompliance to city codes. In early February, Mamdani appointed six members — and a chair — to the nine-member Rent Control Board, who have recently started meetings to discuss implementing a freeze for rent-controlled housing across the city.
Verdict: Serious progress, but the mayor has limited power in his office to enact his entire plan.
- Public grocery stores
During his campaign, Mamdani’s goals as mayor promised at least one store in each borough. Last week, he announced the opening of the first city-owned grocery store at La Marqueta in East Harlem by the end of the year. The rest of the rollout for this plan is contingent on his recent budget proposal that includes $70 million in funding for these grocery stores.
Verdict: In progress, but real rollout expected later this year and dependent upon ongoing negotiations with city council.
- Childcare
Eight days into office, Mamdani announced free childcare for all 2-year-olds across the five boroughs. This is still being rolled out, but with the support of NY Governor Kathy Hochul, the mayor’s office expects serious headway on this project to be complete by the end of the year. The mayor’s office has also planned to expand access to free 3-K for 56 zip codes across NYC in the coming months.
Verdict: Near complete
- Free buses
The mayor has encountered serious roadblocks in his plan to provide free and faster buses across the city. According to the New York Times, the plan could cost over $700 million a year in list revenue and new infrastructure investments to roll out. However, the mayor has reportedly been working with Governor Hochul towards establishing a pilot program for limited free bus routes around the city. The mayor’s office also recently introduced new bus lanes to make bus routes faster, with continuing redistricting for routes.
Verdict: In progress, but faces serious challenges.
- Taxing the rich
Again, Mamdani has faced pushback from other elected officials like Governor Hochul and City Council Speaker Julie Menin. However, just days ago, Mamdani announced a new plan alongside the Governor to increase taxes on residences costing over $5 million that are secondary residences for individuals who keep a primary residence outside of New York — meant to target the superrich that do not live in New York City but keep residences here.
Verdict: In progress, but faces serious challenges.
However, Mamdani hasn’t limited himself to addressing the things that he promised New Yorkers during his campaign. He has favored what he calls “pothole politics,” targeting smaller projects that improve the daily lives of New Yorkers. In an effort not to let the small things slip through the cracks, the Mamdani administration has quite literally started repairing the cracks. In a spree of pothole repairs over the last few months, over 100,000 potholes across the city have been filled. While some might see this as a distraction from the delays in his larger reforms, Mamdani said in his speech that reforms like these will rebuild the trust New Yorkers have in their elected officials, “Because if the government can’t do the small things. How could you ever trust it to do the big ones?”
So what’s the overall verdict?
There are serious challenges facing Mamdani’s ambitious plans for reform. Most stem from limits to his power as mayor, or from influence of other officials in local and state government. There have been some big steps taken to fulfill his promise of free childcare and to address everyday problems New Yorkers face. Real steps have been taken in many of his key areas of policy reform, but many will take effect later this year or are contingent upon compliance from other policy actors like City Council. It seems that despite facing challenges in his position as mayor to implement his initiatives, the mayor is committed to improving the lives of New Yorkers while working towards achieving his goals. It is yet to be seen, however, whether Mamdani will actually be able to deliver his campaign promises given the constraints of the mayor’s power.
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