Since September 13, the Mamdani administration:
… sued the Trump administration over its “public charge” policy. The new federal rule means people who receive public benefits, like Medicaid, can be denied legal immigration status. The city sued, arguing it will push people away from healthcare and toward preventable deaths. Over one million New Yorkers are not U.S. citizens.
“Our immigrant communities are not a burden. They are the people who make New York City and our country great. We will use every tool at our disposal to ensure they can continue to live here with dignity and without fear.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani (Sep. 14)
… hit 200,000 potholes filled in 2026. NYC DOT is filling around 3,000 potholes each week — 27% more than last year. The repairs have become a symbol of Mayor Mamdani’s approach to governance, which he calls pothole politics.
… launched 17 new public bathrooms. Free, accessible modular restrooms are opening at parks and high-traffic areas. They are ADA-accessible and climate-controlled, but access requires a phone (see Fair Criticism below).
… raised pay for emergency snow shovelers. From this winter, snow shovelers will earn a starting pay of $30/hour, up from $19.14. Early registration is now open.
… installed NYC's first green-roof bus shelter. It’s one of four new shelters in Brownsville, featuring plants and wildflowers that cool the bus stops.
… released a plan to tackle traffic deaths. The 10-year plan has 100+ policies, from expanding slow zones to improving intersections — but the plan falls short on a key Mamdani campaign pledge (see Fair Criticism below).
… hosted the Urban 20 Mayors Summit. 25 mayors from the world's largest economies have gathered in NYC to develop a shared agenda on addressing housing, energy costs, and climate change impacts.
Smear of the Week
The smear: “Hundreds of Jewish students” gathered “to protest antisemitism” outside Mayor Mamdani’s home (CBS News, among others)
The reality: Hundreds of children were required to attend a pro-Israel protest outside Mayor Mamdani’s home. Leaked school emails reveal that kids, including dozens of 13-year-olds, were instructed to “show up proudly … as Zionists” at Gracie Mansion — and could only opt out from the protest with permission from their parents. One parent called the tactic "pretty gross."
Fair Criticism
The new public bathrooms may not serve the people who need them most. VOCAL-NY and the Free to Pee Coalition, raised concerns that many unhoused New Yorkers lack smartphones or tap cards to enter the modular units. The coalition noted that "modular bathrooms alone will not change the current imbalance in bathroom access" and is pushing the city to implement a strategic plan to double restroom access.
The new street safety plan breaks Mamdani’s “daylighting” pledge. On the campaign train, Mamdani vowed to ban corner parking, but his new plan waters down that commitment. Street safety advocates called the new commitment "a whole lot of nothing" that prioritizes parking over pedestrian safety, per Streetsblog.
Independent media
What Meeting Mayor Zohran Mamdani Taught Me About Immigrant Belonging. Gwen Lane reflects on Mamdani arriving in NYC as a child and now leading the city he grew up in — not as a triumphant exception, but as evidence that immigrants who build lives here shouldn't have to be extraordinary to deserve belonging.
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