6 Things Mamdani Promised He’d Do For NYC As Mayor

NEW YORK CITY — When Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani was campaigning in the lead up to election day, the Democrat made several promises to voters about making the city more affordable, like making buses free and freezing the rent in rent-stabilized apartments.

Former governor Andrew Cuomo, who lost by eight points during the general election on Tuesday, criticized this approach, calling Mamdani's promises unrealistic and 'political blather' during the final debate.

But, New Yorkers will soon know if it was just the campaign talking, or if Mamdani's promises will be fulfilled.

Before Mamdani gets to City Hall on Jan. 1, here's a look at six big things the Big Apple's first Muslim and Asian American mayor promises to do once he's sworn in.

1. Freeze the rent for rent-stabilized tenants

Throughout his campaigns, one of Mamdani's most repeated slogans was "Freeze the rent." As mayor, Mamdani has promised to immediately freeze the rent for the more than 2,000,000 New Yorkers who live in rent-stabilized housing.

"As mayor, I'll freeze the rent every year that I am in office. That's a guarantee," Mamdani said in a TikTok of him running the marathon in 2024, while wearing a T-shirt that said "Eric Adams Raised My Rent."

2. Create a department of community safety

Mamdani plans to launch a new Department of Community Safety to supplement the NYPD's work by focusing on preventing violence and improving public safety by expanding mental health services, crisis response, and gun violence prevention programs.

"The police have a critical role to play," he said in an interview with the New York Times about the new department. "Right now, we’re relying on them to deal with the failures of our social safety net. This department will pioneer evidence-proven approaches that have been successful elsewhere in the country."

Mamdani has also promised to keep NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch in her role.

3. Make childcare free

Mamdani also pledged to make childcare free for every New Yorker from six weeks to five years old, saying that universal access to childcare would support parents and help families stay in the city.

Mamdani said his administration would expand access to childcare by opening new centers in city-owned spaces, within public schools when possible. He also promised to subsidize commercial rents for daycare centers, streamline permitting, and ensure early childhood educators are paid the same as Department of Education teachers.

"My administration will address this crisis by providing no cost child care to families with children as young as six weeks up until they're five years of age," Mamdani said in a video explaining his platform.

4. Raise the minimum wage to $30 by 2030

During his campaign, Mamdani promised to raise the city's minimum wage to $30 an hour by 2030, with future increases automatically tied to cost of living data. On his website, his campaign rationalized that "When incomes don’t match the true cost of living, government services have to make up the difference – effectively subsidizing low wage employers."

5. Make all city buses free

While on the path to City Hall, Mamdani promised voters he would eliminate bus fares citywide and speed up service by adding more bus lanes and loading zones to reduce double parking. He says the plan would make buses more reliable and accessible while improving safety for both riders and drivers.

"Today, the cost of a ride is just one more example of a cost-of-living crisis. And for the average bus rider who makes less than $30,000 a year, this crisis is even more acute," Mamdani wrote in an op-ed in The Nation about his fare-free bus pilot program, co-authored by Michael Gianaris is the deputy majority leader in the New York State Senate.

6. City-owned grocery stores

Mamdani promised voters he would open five city-owned grocery stores — one in each borough — to keep prices low and make healthy food more accessible. The stores would operate without profit and subsidize costs with public funds, he said during a mayoral forum on the Upper West Side while on the campaign trail.

"Everywhere I go, I hear New Yorkers talking about the outrageous prices of groceries," he said in an interview with the New York Times. "This is a bold and workable plan."

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