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Zohran Mamdani’s winning mayoral campaign was powered by grassroots support. But to deliver on his ambitious agenda, Mamdani will need support from traditional city power brokers – some of whom were skeptical of his platform – and to balance the players on highly sensitive issues.
These are the kind of relationships that can make or break a mayoralty, so we put together a non-comprehensive list of some key relationships to watch as New York City enters the Mamdani era.
Mamdani and the Jewish community
Mamdani committed an unforced error with his transition’s efforts to build bridges with Jewish leaders after facing unending accusations of antisemitism from his critics over his criticism of Israel. One of his first appointments, Catherine Almonte Da Costa, resigned just one day after she was introduced due to antisemitic tweets she made in 2012. Da Costa served as head of appointments for all of one day.
For Mamdani’s critics in the Jewish community, the fiasco was further evidence that he is not doing enough to fight antisemitism. Throughout the campaign, they pointed to his criticism of Israel and past defense of the phrase “globalize the intifada” as a sign he is too radical to govern.
Mamdani said he would not have hired Da Costa if he’d known about the tweets, and that his transition was revising how it vets new hires. The pro-Israel Anti-Defamation League has vowed to track all of Mamdani’s policies and appointments and surfaced Da Costa’s tweets. The episode foreshadows potential clashes to come as Mamdani’s actions and statements are closely scrutinized.
Mamdani and the police
Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch could be in for a fight if and when the mayor tries to implement his promised Department of Community Safety. The new agency would respond to certain mental health emergencies, instead of the NYPD. And if there’s one thing that gets the city’s powerful police unions up in arms, it’s messing with their bottom lines.
Many police officers have already been grumbling about Tisch’s success in reining in the department’s overtime, which is consistently a budget buster. That tension could escalate dramatically if Mamdani looks to decrease the scope of officers’ responsibilities. Rank-and-file officers turned their backs on former Mayor Bill de Blasio during his first term – a cautionary tale for Mamdani.
Mamdani and Menin
Before New York City Councilmember Julie Menin steamrolled rivals and established herself as the presumptive speaker, the conventional wisdom was that someone representing the tony Upper East Side and married to a prominent developer would be a check on Mamdani’s most progressive policies.
Menin has said the Council will “thoroughly review” Mamdani’s plan for a Department of Community Safety. During the transition, Menin has focused on areas where she and Mamdani align. She’s suggested using the Council’s subpoena powers to crack down on corporate greed.
But those same subpoena powers could be used to turn the heat up on Mamdani’s administration. The speaker-mayor relationship remains a big question mark, despite Menin and Mamdani’s initial efforts to play nice.
Fortunately for Mamdani, the mayor has a lot more power than the Council — and that power expanded significantly after voters approved Mayor Eric Adams’ housing-related ballot questions in November. The Council’s power to block development has been neutered.
Mamdani and Hochul
The mayor-elect’s relationship with Gov. Kathy Hochul is similarly on a knife-edge. The two agree on universal child care, and both officials have said they will spend political capital (and taxpayer dollars) on the issue in the new year.
But beyond that, there are limits to where Mamdani and Hochul align.
Mamdani has proposed an extra 2% income tax on New York City residents making $1 million or more annually; a separate tax hike on corporations; and a series of cost-saving reforms. He said that would raise $10 billion a year to pay for his affordability agenda.
Hochul has said she won’t raise income taxes – but she’s been less definitive in ruling out other levies on the rich.
“I’ve not had an increase in our income tax because I want to make sure high-net-worth people know we appreciate them,” Hochul has said. “I don’t want to drive them out of our state.”
Mamdani and Trump
The Oval Office love-fest between the 79-year-old Republican president and the 34-year-old democratic socialist certainly made for great television. But anyone who thinks it augurs a productive relationship between City Hall and the White House has not been paying attention to Trump since 2016.
It’s still a strong possibility that federal immigration agents or National Guard soldiers could storm the streets en masse. If that occurs, Mamdani’s friction with other local and state leaders could fall away as moderate and left-leaning New Yorkers unite against federal interference.
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