Welcome back to Mamdani Bulletin’s weekly newsletter.
Since October 11, the Mamdani administration:
… ordered a review of police officers’ use of force. For the first time in a decade, the city will comprehensively examine when and how NYPD officers use force.
… added free pet food to 22 food pantries. A $500,000 investment aims to keep struggling families from giving up pets they can’t afford to feed.
… beat Trump’s attempt to make city workers help ICE. A federal judge threw out a lawsuit against NYC’s sanctuary laws, which keep city staff out of immigration enforcement.
… told garage owners to keep ICE off their lots. Over 100 officials joined the call after agents, reportedly operating from a nearby lot, shot a father with his 5-year-old son in the car.
… let New Yorkers clear old city fines at a discount. For 90 days, small businesses and homeowners can wipe out interest on unpaid fines, which can block permits, licenses and loans.
… gave the city a stake in a new quantum lab. The NYU lab will build and test the chips behind next-gen computers. The city gets board seats and 15% of earnings from inventions made there.
… struck a deal to end horse carriage rides. The ban takes effect in June 2028, with job support for drivers, whose union opposes it.
It’s Election Day on November 3. Mayor Mamdani released a campaign video backing incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul — calling her Republican challenger, Bruce Blakeman, a “bad apple” who would rather fund ICE than Medicaid. And on local politics, the Mamdani administration launched ads on five ballot measures that would speed up housing permits, street safety projects and outdoor dining approvals.
Independent media
Is This Mamdani’s NYPD Reckoning? Hell Gate argues that Mayor Mamdani’s police reforms are too little, too late for his base. His new oversight measures fall far short of progressive demands to fire Commissioner Jessica Tisch, and recent NYPD scandals have weakened her position, giving the left an opening to push for real change.
On October 13, Mayor Mamdani said he has “no plans” to replace Jessica Tisch, then appeared alongside her at a memorial for fallen officers. For more on the Mamdani-Tisch drama, check out our post: Why Mamdani Hasn’t Fired Jessica Tisch.
Smear of the Week
Bruce Blakeman told Hasidic leaders that Mayor Zohran Mamdani would let rioters attack Jewish communities. At a private meeting in Brooklyn, recorded by the New York Times, the Republican candidate for governor suggested the mayor would not stop rioters “if they’re burning down the yeshivas and your shuls, and burning down your house and raping your women.”
In reality, major crime is at an all-time low, and Mamdani recently launched the city’s first-ever strategy to combat antisemitism, with new security funding for synagogues.
Blakeman is certainly a "Bad Apple" if he resorts to hate-mongering in order to win a vote. Stop the liars in their tracks.