How Zohran Mamdani can succeed as mayor
Being mayor of New York is often described as the second hardest job in the United States. And for good reason. Because it’s not just the largest city in the United States. It’s the most diverse, with as many different opinions as there are New Yorkers.
As a top deputy in two different city administrations, including under current Mayor Adams, I feel uniquely qualified to offer some advice to our Mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani. Full disclosure: I did not vote for him and I do not support his socialist agenda. But I still root for our city to succeed, so I offer this advice in that spirit.
First and foremost, running a city as complex as New York is not just about ideology. To paraphrase our greatest mayor, Fiorello LaGuardia, “there is no Republican, Democratic” – or Socialist – way to pick up trash. This work essentially consists of providing basic urban services. So our new mayor should focus on appointing his core government operations team—none of whom have been named yet, only “interim” holdovers from the Adams administration until Mamdani finally appoints permanent successors—instead of making token appointments like a deputy mayor for “economic justice.”
Yes, Mamdani ran on the principle of affordability, but any mayor’s top priority should be keeping our city safe. The Adams administration managed to massively reduce major crime, including the lowest rate of shootings in the city’s history. And Mamdani wisely reappointed Adams as police commissioner. Next, he needs to leave behind the anti-police rhetoric of his campaign. He must show that he is committed to public safety and supports the work the NYPD does to keep us all safe. No mayor has been successful if he saw crime increase under his leadership. Mamdani should follow through on Adams’ pledge to fund 5,000 additional police officers.
Producing affordable housing is at the heart of affordability. Mamdani just appointed Adams’ housing director as deputy mayor for housing, and she has played a critical role in producing and creating, through rezoning, an unprecedented number of affordable housing units over the past four years – more than 400,000 units. Now comes the hard part. Mamdani must honor his promise to accelerate the production of these housing units beyond these record rates.
One of the main levers of financial accessibility lies in economic opportunities. This requires a strong, job-producing local economy, which the Adams administration has grown to record levels, resulting in the largest number of jobs in the city’s history – more than 4.86 million. Free buses, zero rent increases and higher taxes on the richest 1% make for catchy campaign slogans. But in governing, we must find a balance between those who need jobs and those who produce them, so that all benefit and contribute to our local economy. This is not an “us versus them” scenario. We are all in this together.
Quality of life is important to New Yorkers. Our streets and parks are now cleaner. Containerization of waste has reduced the rat population. And the interventions have helped get more than 3,500 homeless people off our streets, but not enough. Mamdani now says he will allow the homeless encampments that the Adams administration removed. It didn’t work in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and it won’t work here. It is not humane to leave distressed homeless people in encampments on our streets – especially in the middle of winter – instead of providing them with the housing and services they need.
Anti-Semitism is raging in our city and around the world. Today, there are more hate crimes committed against Jews in New York than against all other groups combined. And there are more Jews living here than in any other city in the world. That’s why Adams created a mayor’s office to combat anti-Semitism – a first in the country. Jews felt threatened by recent protests outside synagogues. Mamdani can allay their fears by preserving the mayor’s position to combat anti-Semitism and stating that those who oppose the Israeli government should not blame all Jews for its actions or demand that the State of Israel cease to exist. It must show that we will remain an inclusive city that welcomes and protects every community.
Ultimately, a slim majority of New Yorkers elected Mamdani to keep his promises. They will understand course corrections made through reflection after “on the ground” experience. But they will expect him to keep his key campaign promises. If he doesn’t, they will hold him accountable and then judge him on whether these initiatives produce the promised results.
Mastro is New York City’s first deputy mayor. He is the first person in the city’s modern history to serve as deputy mayor and acting mayor in two different administrations (Giuliani and Adams).
