Mayoral Spew: Mamdani Rolls Out Some (Spicy) Policy Pledges

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State of the Race in 30 Seconds

"It's a totally different campaign," Andrew Cuomo said last week after Eric Adams dropped out. Yet all available evidence suggests the contrary: the most recent polling shows Zohran Mamdani still way ahead in the race, with Mamdani now with double the support of Cuomo among Latine voters. Mamdani also has the most cash left to spend, with just over $5 million in his campaign account. Cuomo just has $1.4 million left. Pro-Cuomo super PACs are flooding the airwaves and stuffing mailboxes, but the candidate himself, to use a metaphor he might appreciate, is still stuck in first gear. For example: We're four weeks out from the election and Cuomo had just one event on his public schedule today—a TV interview.

Meanwhile, Mamdani is starting to preview some substantive policy positions (keep reading), and Republican Curtis Sliwa is now taking precautions to protect his life (more on that too!). In 28 days, it's very much looking like Mayor Mamdani. 

Mamdani Makes Some Waves

After his stunning win in June's Democratic primary, Zohran Mamdani has (smartly) played it safe. He's shored up endorsements amongst the mainstream Democrats he'll need to get at least part of his agenda through Albany and reassured the billionaire class that, at least for now, the guillotines will not be appearing in the middle of Central Park. His interviews got boring because he wasn't saying anything he hadn't said during the primary. Where there were once late-night walks across Manhattan, there are now…paper shredding events?

That conservatism has rankled at least some on his left flank, who had been wondering when Mamdani was going to get back to the types of bold policy proposals that propelled his primary campaign. In addition to free buses, universal childcare, and a Department of Community Safety, he was…just reiterating those promises. Where was the fire? Where was the insight into what a Mamdani mayoralty would actually be like? 

Last week, though, Primary Mamdani inched back into the picture First, at a press gaggle, he said he would have his police commissioner follow the Civilian Complaint Review Board's recommendation when it came to police discipline. 

“What I would do is ensure that the recommendations of the CCRB be understood to be the final voice of the question of accountability,” Mamdani said last Wednesday, when asked by a reporter about his stance towards CCRB recommendations.

As recently as 2023, the NYPD overruled the CCRB's recommendation in over half of cases, and notably, current NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who is auditioning to keep the same job in the possible Mamdani administration, overruled the CCRB (and her own NYPD judge!) when they recommended firing a cop who shot a fleeing driver.

Of course, New York City's last progressive mayor, Bill de Blasio, also pledged reforms for the CCRB during his campaign—but after winning the job he instead ran interference for the NYPD, looking to avoid further conflict with rank-and-file cops (a lot of good that did him). 

Mamdani immediately and predictably took heat from both the New York Post and the cop unions for his stance. Unlike de Blasio, however, Mamdani did not predicate his campaign on rooting out police corruption and endemic racism, and has lately gone so far as to apologize for calling the NYPD "racist." With Mayor Eric Adams dropping out of the race, many of the law enforcement unions are without a candidate, and any further antagonizing of the NYPD could push them to get behind Andrew Cuomo. (So far, the largest police union, the PBA, had completely sat out the mayor's race—this seemed to rile them up.) 

Another controversial policy stance Mamdani rolled out last week: he said he would phase out the City's gifted and talented program for kindergarteners in City schools.