Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as mayor of New York City on January 1, 2026 and prior to his mayorship, represented the 36th New York State Assembly District. He’s the first Muslim mayor of the city and received support from many communities in NYC, winning the plurality of votes in every borough except for Staten Island. Mamdani had three main promises that he was running on: freezing the rent, making buses fast and free, and providing New Yorkers with universal childcare.
According to a Newsweek article titled “Full List of Mamdani Executive Orders Signed on Day 1 as NYC Mayor” by Giulia Carbonaro, on his first day in office, Mayor Mamdani announced five executive orders, one of them revoking all executive orders issued by former Mayor Eric Adams after September 26, 2024. He also signed orders ensuring 311 violations were resolved; establishing the Land Inventory Fast-Track (LIFT) task force which will work to identify land suitable for accelerated housing; establishing the Streamlining Procedures to Expedite Equitable Development (SPEED) task force which helps accelerate the construction of new housing for New Yorkers; and an order restructuring his administration to have five deputy mayors for the city: First Deputy Mayor, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning, Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice, Deputy Mayor for Operations, and Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services.
So far, Mamdani has made the most progress in providing New Yorkers with universal childcare. Sara Pequeño’s USA Today article on the plan describes how on January 8th, only 7 days after being sworn into office, Mayor Mamdani announced a partnership with Governor Kathy Hochul that would work to provide 2-year-olds in NYC with free healthcare as well as provide early education to 3 and 4-year-olds. This plan is projected to help NYC residents greatly as childcare can cost around $14,621 annually depending on the family.
Mamdani’s first major test was the snowstorm that hit NYC in late January. New Yorkers saw over a foot of snow in some areas and millions faced power outages because of the weather. In the days leading up to the snow, 10 warming centers were opened across the five boroughs and the Department of Sanitation worked to salt streets prior to snowfall. According to a Time Magazine article titled “How Mamdani Has Met His First Major Governing Test” which covers the storm, Mamdani received a lot of positive feedback for his preparation for when the snow hit from groups like the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg and North Brooklyn as well as from the Department of Sanitation.
After interviewing BSGE students, I found that most of them had positive attitudes towards Zohran Mamdani’s mayorship thus far. One BSGE student said they believe Mamdani’s first month has been a successful one “because of the crime rate being down and his attentiveness with fixing the previous administration’s problems.” When asked what they considered to be success in office, this student said “I measure his success by comparing his mayorship to Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams, which were both not reflective of the regular New Yorkers and brought shame to New York.” When asked about Mamdani’s first month, another BSGE student shared similarly positive sentiments saying, “I like his policies like free, universal daycare, the city run grocery stores to help the regular people in NY deal with price jumps.” This student also commented on their support for Mamdani’s plan to raise the income tax on those in the top 1%.
Although all his policies cannot be covered in a single article, many see Mamdani’s mayorship as a new beginning for New Yorkers. Positive attitudes have surrounded not only his campaign, but his administration and it seems that many New Yorkers feel a sense of hope for the city.
