Like any New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani is going to need Albany’s help.
From free buses and child care to control of city schools, Mamdani will need legislation to achieve cornerstones of his agenda. That means the “Democratic socialist” mayor will need help from moderate Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and a Democrat-led State Legislature that philosophically resides between the two.
It sets up what has been the classic internal struggle for Democrats, especially during the last decade, over just how progressive the party should be.
Top lawmakers said they share many of the same broad goals as Mamdani, such as making the city more affordable for working families. The tension will center on how to pay for things they all generally support, such as free child care.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- Zohran Mamdani is going to need Albany’s help to achieve the cornerstones of his agenda such as free buses and child care and control of city schools.
- That means the “Democratic socialist” mayor-elect will need help from moderate Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and a Democrat-led State Legislature that philosophically resides between the two.
- It sets up what has been the classic internal struggle for Democrats, especially during the last decade, over just how progressive the party should be.
Mamdani, as part of the Democratic Socialist wing of the party, likely will want to push his fellow Democrats on raising taxes on the rich — an idea Hochul opposes. Finding solutions is not only key for Mamdani, but also for state lawmakers who will be up for reelection in 2026.
“I think we all support universal free child care, the governor included. We’ve already instituted a free bus pilot program that was very successful, so I think there’s open minds about that,” said Deputy Senate Majority Leader Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria). “The need to build affordable housing is something everyone can agree upon.”
“The question is: How do you fund these things? That’s where the rubber meets the road,” Gianaris said.
Affordability
Hochul and legislators, Democrats and Republicans, have been stressing “affordability” for several years now, but Mamdani seized on making it perhaps the catchphrase of the mayoral election. That might drive his agenda and Albany’s as well next year.
“Everybody is looking at affordability. If they weren’t looking at it before this election, they are now,” said Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers). “We deliver on that affordability promise.”
One Mamdani pledge that caught attention was making city buses free. Janno Lieber, the CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said it needed to be studied extensively.
“If a lot more people are riding the bus, are we going to need more buses or are we going to need more bus drivers?” Lieber said in an NY1 interview last month. “Will we need extra depots? What will be the impact on subway fare revenue if everyone moves to the — or some people move to the — bus, right?”
Mamdani’s plan is estimated at $800 million or more annually. But that’s a small number compared with a $254 billion state budget, he and lawmakers have said. Mamdani has suggested the city or the MTA could foot the bill, or most of it.
“The price tag for free buses sounds like a lot, but in the scheme of things it’s not a lot,” said Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx). “I’m sure there will be a way to pay for that.”
The other obvious item on the legislative agenda would be mayoral control of city schools. It’s a piece of legislation that gets renewed every few years — it expires at the end of June — but typically there is wrangling over the governance details that a mayor wants.
Mamdani hasn’t really outlined a wish list for lawmakers and it’s likely an issue that will not be resolved before June.
New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani walks with members of his transition team including Elana Leopold, left, and Melanie Hartzog in Queens on Nov. 5. Credit: AP / Heather Khalifa
Big ticket item
The area with the most obvious support is free child care. Hochul, in her four years in office, steadily has pushed for expansion of child care services.
“I’ve had conversations with Assemblymember Mamdani about how we can get to universal child care. I believe we can. I believe that,” Hochul told reporters in October.
Yet it’s also the biggest ticket item in the mayor-elect’s agenda at this point. Mamdani has said he wants it to cover children from age 6 weeks to 5 years. The cost is estimated at beyond $5 billion annually.
Heastie said the cost, the speed of the expansion and its application statewide will be the sticking points.
“Remember, the state has been looking to expand child care over the years. So Zohran’s idea is not something that is brand new,” Heastie said. “He may want it more accelerated … I have to be the [Assembly] Speaker for the state. I don’t think we’d look at expanding it just for the City of New York.”
Mamdani has made a priority of raising taxes on big earners — which would require Albany’s approval. Heastie said that’s not the only way to line up funding.
“This premise that we have to tax to do everything Zohran wants to do — I don’t think we have to,” Heastie said.
Chemistry
Clashes with a governor or legislature can affect a mayor’s agenda. Look no further than Bill de Blasio, who soon after being elected mayor 12 years ago, publicly battled with then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo over school funding and more.
Of course, Cuomo’s bruising style often led to clashes with many other fellow Democrats. But in this particular case, it got de Blasio’s agenda off to a bad start, sapped energy from a thousand other issues and generally set the tone for choppy relations with Albany.
Legislative leaders said they can’t see a repeat with Mamdani, even if they disagree on details. That he has served as a state assemblyman and worked the halls of the State Capitol helps.
“I do feel he is genuinely interested in making people’s lives better. That’s always a good place to start,” Stewart-Cousins said. “You know, if you’re just getting into things because you’re trying to find out what your next position of power is going to be or how you can make somebody look like a loser while you look like a winner or anything other than trying to serve the people, it leads to conflict.”
Said Heastie: “I lived through the dynamic of a Republican[-controlled] Senate, de Blasio and Cuomo and I had to deal with all of those,” Heastie said. “I don’t think, in any stretch of the imagination, dealing with Gov. Hochul, Andrea and Zohran will be that difficult.”
