By Zoe Sophia Carrillo, Aida Cepeda, Brooklynn Then, Arsia Jannat, and IndyKids staff
Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old New York State Assembly member, won the mayoral election in New York City. He was the first Muslim mayoral candidate and will soon be the first Muslim mayor of New York City. He’ll also be the youngest New York City mayor in more than a century. He was born in Uganda, a country in Africa, and moved to New York with his parents when he was 7. Mamdani attended the Bronx High School of Science.
“Zohran is powered by tens of thousands of volunteers, hundreds of thousands of unique donors. It’s very rare to see a local Democratic primary New York campaign with this much amount of volunteer and grassroots excitement,” Trip Yang, a political strategist, told BBC.
Focused on affordability in New York City, Mamdani’s policy ideas include decreasing the prices of public transportation, rent freezes, and free day care. Mamdani also calls himself a democratic socialist. Democratic socialism can mean a few different things but usually focuses on advocating for equality and for the state to provide more services.
In an interview in NBC’s Meet the Press, Mamdani said, “I call myself a Democrat socialist in many ways inspired by the words of Dr. [Martin Luther] King [Jr.] from decades ago, who said, ‘Call it democracy or call it democratic socialism. There has to be a better distribution of wealth for all of God’s children in this country.’”
Mamdani wants to help New York City, especially those in need. His plan involves funding through an increase in the corporate tax rate, as well as a tax on New Yorkers earning over $1 million per year.
He gets his inspiration from other social democracies, such as Sweden and Finland. Those countries have universal healthcare coverages, provide housing allowances, have low transportation prices, and provide job retraining programs if people become unemployed.
Additionally, he also wants to address hate crimes. According to BBC, “Mamdani has also said that there is no room for antisemitism in New York City, adding that if he were elected, he would increase funding to combat hate crimes.”
Mamdani is very popular, especially among young people.
“His progressive policies, such as freezing rent and free public buses, were appealing to me,” Stephanie Chouhan, a 22-year-old New York City resident, told IndyKids. “Mamdani has the energy and desire to bring about change that older politicians lack. He seems like he actually cares about his constituents, compared to other more self-serving politicians. Rather than the same recycled promises that other politicians make that are often to benefit only some New Yorkers, Mamdani seems to understand the real issues New Yorkers face, having plans made to make NYC more affordable,” she stated.
Tasneem Rahman, an 18-year-old in New York City, told IndyKids, “I like his plans, like the city-owned stores, and then also focusing on rent. I feel like he’s going to be there more for the New Yorkers.”
Mamdani’s supporters are delighted with his ideas for lowering prices in the city, and also the fact that he can relate to immigrants—he knows what it’s like to be in their position. “He understands us. He belongs to us. He’s from our community, you know, the immigrant community,” Lokmani Rai told BBC.
Mamdani has gained the support of many communities in New York City. Now that he’s won the mayoral election, he’ll have a chance to make his plans come true.
