NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani reflects on his 1st 100 days in office
After campaigning to freeze rent and make buses fast and free, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani reached his 100th day in office Friday.
Mamdani has made progress on his ambitious agenda over the first 100 days, including a plan for free universal child care, but his other major promises are still up in the air.
A plan for free MTA buses has stalled, but there has been some progress on pilot programs for one line in each borough. A rent freeze on rent-stabilized apartments is still in the works, but the Rent Guidelines Board has seen conflicting reports on profits and losses ahead of its upcoming decision in June.
Best and worst moments
Mamdani seems to be taking a page from TV legend Ed Sullivan, who opened his weekly variety program by saying, "We've got a really big show." There have been plenty of showman moments in his first 100 days, like filling potholes and staging announcements in unusual places.
On Friday, the mayor stood in front of the Prospect Park Zoo's red panda enclosure to announce a junk fees settlement with the HungryPanda delivery app. His staff went to great lengths to make sure the normally-nocturnal red pandas were there for everyone to marvel at.
During the news conference, the mayor was asked what his best moment as mayor has been.
"Honestly, it's hard to top this one, as we're sitting in the zoo celebrating with red pandas. I think my best moment was probably Day 8 when we stood with Gov. Hochul to announce $1.2 billion to put our city on a pathway to universal child care," he said.
The mayor's worst moment?
"Worst moment was when I read an article recently that said we might have more snow," he said.
Snowstorms, protests and a budget battle
For a mayor who got into trouble with his police department for dismissing an event that injured two cops in Washington Square Park as just a snowball fight, another round of snow was certainly nothing to look forward to -- especially since several New Yorkers died of hypothermia and Staten Islanders were livid about a botched cleanup.
Mamdani has also had to deal with a protest outside Gracie Mansion by a group that wanted to "stop the Islamic takeover of NYC."
"It's difficult when someone comes with a pig to drop at your doorstep, or a goat, or is looking to find a criticism not of your politics, not of you as a person, but of you as a part of the faith that you belong to," he said.
And then there are the budget battles. The mayor's threat to raise property taxes unless Albany agrees to tax the rich angered City Council Speaker Julie Menin.
"We have set a hard no to raising property taxes 9.5%," Menin said.
Mixed ratings from political experts
What's been the mayor's overarching strategy so far?
"We have told ourselves that every day has to be one that's marked by an accomplishment, by an achievement," he said.
Still, political experts give Mamdani mixed reviews.
"I give him an F at this point," political consultant O'Brien Murray said. "Because what he's doing is what he planned to do. Tax New Yorkers, spend the money, so he gets a blip on the screen for things he's done right."
"I give him a B- with room to improve, only because he has made some promises on child care, made some promise on the Rent Guidelines Board, and I don't agree with him on 99% of things, but you got to give him grace and the opportunity to grow into the role," said J.C. Polanco, an assistant professor at the University of Mount Saint Vincent.
On his 100th day, Mamdani also went to the Soundview section of the Bronx to award the winners of his "Municipal Madness" contest by cleaning up illegal dumping. The event had cheerleaders and the Department of Sanitation mascot.
To quote Ed Sullivan, it was a really big show.
