New York City is in a very vulnerable place right now, rent prices are through the roof, a lot of people feel unsafe walking in the streets, and trust in the city’s leadership is at an all time low. This is why the upcoming mayoral election is so important. New Yorkers have 3 very different candidates to choose from. Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo, and Curtis Silwa. Each candidate brings something unique and different to the table. Although ultimately Zohran Mamdani is the best choice to become the future mayor of New York City due to his background, age and relatability.
Zohran Mamdani is a 33 year old immigrant born in Uganda. His family immigrated to New York City when he was just 7 years old. Growing up in Queens, Mamdani, saw firsthand how hard it can be to live in a city that prioritizes the wealthy citizens who make up a small portion of the NYC population. His experiences shaped the passion he has to make NYC a place that’s livable for everybody. Today more than 2 million New Yorkers live in rent stabilized buildings, homes that are supposed to provide security, but instead under the current leadership of Eric Adams the rent has increased more than it has in decades. Mayor Eric Adams’ appointees on the Rent Guidelines Board have raised rents by nearly 9%, taking money from the very people that make this city function. Mamdani understands that affordable housing isn’t just a talking point, it’s the foundation of this city. As mayor, Mamdani, plans to immediately freeze the rent for stabilized tenants, and use every available resource to build the housing New Yorkers need and bring down the rent. The main reason working families are leaving the city is because of the housing crisis, and the mayor has the power to change that.
Public transportation is also a major talking point in Zohran Mamdani’s campaign. One in five New Yorkers can’t afford to pay for public transportation, and our city buses are the slowest in the country. This system punishes people that are trying to get to work or school, and go back home in the afternoon. Mamdani has already proved he can make change happen. He helped
start New York City’s first free bus program, letting people ride five bus lines for free. As mayor, he wants to make all city buses free and faster by adding more bus lanes and fixing traffic problems. His goal is clear: make public transit easy and affordable for everyone. Mamdani’s bold ideas also come with some challenges. Critics say his plans like freezing rent and making buses free—might be too expensive and hard to keep up over time. Some worry his policies could scare away landlords or investors, which might make housing even harder to find. Others question if he has enough experience to handle the tough politics of running a big city. Even his supporters agree that his ideas are ambitious and will take careful planning and teamwork to pull off. A worry that I have is that Mamdani will not fulfill or try to fulfill his very bold ideas.Still, many people see that as a good thing Mamdani is willing to take risks and fight for big changes instead of doing what’s safe and easy. Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa both use older styles of leadership that don’t really fit today’s New York. Cuomo has a lot of experience, but many people don’t trust him because he has been accused of sexual harassment by several women he worked with. Andrew Cuomo was also responsible for the deaths of a lot of senior citizens in nursing homes. Cuomo enforced a policy that nursing homes had to admit people suffering and or recovering from Covid-19, even though they were understaffed and not as experienced with those things. Yes,he knows how to run the government, but his ideas often help big businesses more than regular New Yorkers and he doesn’t think about the long term effects of his not so smart policies. Curtis Sliwa focuses on safety and started the Guardian Angels, which shows he cares about neighborhoods. But his plans mostly focus on crime and don’t give strong ideas for problems like housing, schools, or climate change. For people worried about rent, education, and the city’s future, that’s a big concern.
When you compare all the candidates Zohran Mamdani is by far the best. He’s what us New Yorkers need right now: a young man with new, fresh and progressive ideas. New York doesn’t need another old out-of-touch mayor who isn’t willing to help out the majority of the NYC population.