Mayor Zohran Mamdani became New York City’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor and the youngest in over a century when he was sworn in using a Quran. He used his inauguration to affirm he will govern as a democratic socialist, speaking before thousands outside City Hall alongside Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Mamdani pledged to focus his administration on working-class New Yorkers and said he would not abandon his principles despite criticism, framing New York as a proving ground for democratic socialist governance with an agenda centered on safety, affordability, and expanded public services funded by higher taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations.
It is ironic that he claims to help the working class by raising taxes. He also says he is focused on public safety, even as he has opposed policing and the incarceration of convicted criminals.
Mamdani began his first day by signing five executive orders. The first repealed all executive actions issued by former Mayor Eric Adams after Adams was federally indicted. The second appointed his five deputy mayors, establishing his democratic socialist administration.
For first deputy mayor, he chose Dean Fuleihan, 74, a Lebanese American who previously served as first deputy mayor under Bill de Blasio. Fuleihan oversaw the allocation of hundreds of millions of dollars in city funds to Universal Pre-K and early childhood education, significantly expanding pre-kindergarten access across New York City. To fund these social programs, the city budget grew from $72 billion to $85 billion, supporting affordable housing initiatives and other social equity programs.
The new deputy mayor for housing and planning is Leila Bozorg, who previously served as Eric Adams’s executive director of housing and played a key role in negotiating the City of Yes housing rezoning policy.
The initiative includes $5 billion in total investment, with $1 billion from state funding and $1 billion from the city allocated for housing capital. Key components include the Universal Affordability Preference, which provides a 20 percent density bonus for projects that dedicate additional space to permanently affordable housing for households earning 60 percent of the Area Median Income.
The program permits three- to five-story apartment buildings in low-density residential districts near public transit, while requiring that at least 20 percent of units in developments with 50 or more apartments be permanently affordable.
Julie Su, who served as acting U.S. Labor Secretary under Biden and California’s labor secretary from 2019-2021 but was not confirmed by the Senate despite two attempts, became Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice in a newly created role. Helen Arteaga Landaverde, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst and the first Latina to serve as CEO of Elmhurst Hospital, became Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services.
Julia Kerson, previously deputy director of infrastructure under Governor Hochul and a former MTA vice president, became Deputy Mayor for Operations.
Hellbound and Down 