The youth of America is seeking structural economic change as corporate capitalism has seemingly deepened the wealth inequality gap over the past 50 years. In this spirit, New York City elected Zohran Mamdani, its second democratic socialist mayor in modern history, in November 2025.
Mamdani is keen on the issues of housing affordability and public services, but how will this reshape New York and is it practical? Mamdani has been in office since Jan. 1 and has made a handful of significant policy reform announcements.
No child left behind
During the campaign, Mamdani initially stated he was going to end mayoral control of the New York City Department of Education in favor of “co-governance.” Parents, educators and students say mayoral control limits their ability to have a meaningful say in schools.
However, a day before he entered office, Mamdani asked state legislators for a continuation of mayoral control. What can New York City Public Schools expect while Mamdani is in office?
For starters, the mayor can strengthen the pre-K and 3K programs for universal reforms in many districts such as Highbridge and Morrisania, where fewer seats are available. With the cost of childcare becoming unbearable, New York should attempt to put families at the center of their educational mission.
Mamdani has partnered with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to ensure a high-quality preschool education for children ages two to four in the upcoming school year. In 2025, as conversations were surrounding the improvement of the city’s Department of Education, Mamdani also discussed implementing a K-12 agenda to include free after-school programs, mental health services and integrated student bodies.
One of the major aspects he highlighted was “capstone projects” for seniors in high schools to take teaching outside of the classroom and encourage students to explore their interests in real-life settings.
If Mamdani manages to widen access to universal early education, it will not only ease the financial strain on parents but allow children, no matter their background, to have many doors open for them. As for seniors, it will expose them to various career choices while showing a different side of teaching. It would keep students more engaged and excited about the future.
Going from $3 to free transportation
An administrative part of Mamdani’s campaign was to make Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) trains, subways and buses free to ride, a goal that seems far out of reach, especially with fare prices increasing from $2.90 to $3. Many New Yorkers were not happy to hear about the increase given the city’s high cost of living. The public sees transit fares as another expense eating away at their paycheck. New Yorkers have limited options that cost even more than the fare price. Most people do not have a choice but to pay as others simply decide to jump the turnstile.
Fare evasion has affected the MTA immensely, which reportedly lost $900 million in 2025. Although it might seem like a large amount, the MTA lost $1 billion due to fare evasions in 2024.
Mamdani wants free transportation to make the system more efficient and less of a burden on the working class. His attempts to achieve this by raising taxes on the rich and major corporations is controversial due to the economic risks. Yet, this bold proposal was one of the main draws that hooked Gen Z into Mamdani’s campaign.
The affordable housing crisis
A major issue New Yorkers are facing is the quality of apartments compared to the price of rent. Many New Yorkers are satisfied with living in a one-bedroom apartment the size of a shoe box for $2000 a month, due to limited supply and outsized demand for housing in the city.
To make New York housing affordable again, Mamdani has discussed actions such as freezing rent to unveiling dishonest landlords. Either way, the housing crisis requires at least 560,000 new units by 2030. Will New Yorkers be able to afford these new units?
Well, Mamdani made it clear during his campaign he intends to make housing affordable again in New York City. He has argued the housing crisis is the primary reason working families are leaving the city, pointing to a 12.6% increase in rent for stabilized apartments under former Mayor Eric Adams.
On his official website, Mamdani describes a deepening housing crisis that has exposed the limits of relying on private development to deliver affordability. He proposes expanding publicly financed, rent-stabilized housing by using city investment and public land to support long-term affordability and preservation.
Once the Rent Guidelines Board convenes over the summer and approves a rent freeze, New Yorkers can expect to see changes starting Oct. 1.
As of Jan. 1, Mamdani has already taken action to protect tenants and speed up construction of new housing. What would Mamdani do if the board denied his plan to freeze rent?
Big smiles and sit downs
Whether you hate him or love him, one thing Mamdani does that few other politicians do is engage in direct conversations with everyday people. He listens to their struggles, wants and needs. He focuses on the burdens working-class New Yorkers and changes that would make their daily lives more manageable.
During his campaign, Mamdani utilized platforms and trends familiar to Gen Z to get them involved and interested in the future of their city. He has been very keen on public engagement.
In December 2025, he met with 142 New Yorkers individually, each of whom shared their public issues of concern with the then-mayor-elect.
This approach is definitely shaping New York City to be more open and affordable for both the working class and future generations. Will the next four years be different from previous mayoral terms? Mamdani definitely has potential, but his work has just begun.
Featured image: Photo courtesy Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 4.0
Edited by Nancy Martin & James Sutton
