Zohran Mamdani’s ambitious campaign was destined to be criticized from the moment his campaign began. Now, Mamdani celebrates his second month anniversary in office as the mayor of The Big Apple. Multiple executive orders, the ongoing ICE crisis, rough January snow, and his controversial socialist stance have already made headlines across the nation. Can we consider these early days an initial success? Let’s recap what he’s done.
On his first day in office, Mamdani signed three executive orders to address the housing crisis. He sought to revamp the MOPT (Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants) by appointing Cea Weaver, a long-tenured national housing and tenant organizer, and created two task forces that look to identify affordable housing and fight barriers that drive up the costs of housing construction. He matched the ambitious drive that he emphasized so clearly in his campaign and delivered a strong message on day one.
Since then, he has not stopped. Mamdani soon introduced universal childcare that offers free care for children two and under, expanding accessibility across the city. This initiative was done in collaboration with New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and the two have demonstrated their ability to work together on certain policies.
In February, New York saw back to back months of record-setting blizzards. Mamdani faced the first snowstorm head on, taking his own shovel to help the citizens of the city along with the rest of DSNY and 700 salt-spreaders. New Yorkers felt generally satisfied about his response, but the death toll of 19 became a glaring concern. Just three weeks later, the ninth biggest blizzard in NYC history hit, and Mamdani responded harder than ever–79 shelter placements, 1,300 emergency shovelers, excellent work by the DSNY cleared in order to get schools reopened by Tuesday after two feet of snow on Saturday. The right-wing, especially House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, responded right back to this by emphasizing the death toll, remarking, “you want to see what socialism gets you — people now have frozen to death under the leadership of the socialist Mamdani.” With that same logic, who is to blame for the death tolls in other areas of the US that faced the same hardships? This anger is an excuse to bash Mamdani’s general leadership and doesn’t actually focus on the topic at hand. Mamdani cannot be the scapegoat of every issue.
Mamdani remains firm in his stance against ICE, with his administration launching the Know Your Rights initiative and signing Executive Order 13 to ensure New Yorkers are aware of their property rights and the extent of federal officials’ authority to cross them. In a recent headline, Ellie Aghayeva, a student at Columbia University, was taken from university housing after ICE agents deceived multiple campus officials. Mamdani, at his second meeting with Donald Trump, shared his concerns and got her released. This brings us to a conversation about his relationship with Donald Trump, and more particularly, their quick turnaround. They went from blasting each other constantly to a bromance that actually yields good work–as Mamdani puts it, “cordial and productive.”
His socialist stance may not seem to be significantly harming his popularity score in New York, but he has faced some rightful criticism. For example, he has filled many posts with officers who have controversial pasts–antisemitism and racial supremacy turned out to be a common trend. Cea Weaver herself, the new head of the MOPT, has had posts of white supremacy declarations resurface. Mamdani, in response, stated, “The core issue at hand here is, what are we hiring this person to do?” However, while it is important to emphasize the role itself, it is bad for publicity to roll over past issues that can be addressed. It seems as though Mamdani commonly avoids the negatives. In situations like the 19 deaths in the blizzards, the Mamdani administration could have still taken more accountability rather than seeming to cover it with their success of how they handled the second snowstorm.
The biggest issue lies in how Mamdani handles the budget plan, the most crucial factor that limited his ability to perform. He initially fought for a 2% tax increase on the richest residents of the boroughs, which was quickly shut down by Governor Hochul, who stands firmly against raising taxes in the state. This may conflict with Mamdani’s mid-February Fiscal Year 2027 Preliminary Budget Plan. His two options lie in pushing for that 2% tax increase plan or raising general property taxes, both of which Hochul does not support.
Ultimately, Mamdani has still managed to reach the highest approval rating (+48), up from having +14 back in September of 2025. Disregarding the specific policies or orders he has called for, it is clear he has become a comforting face in the city. Criticism, of course, is expected and should be in place. However, we cannot needlessly bash Mamdani for his limitations and what he may not be able to perfectly handle just two months into his four-year term. As Vanderbilt University opens its first campus outside of Nashville in the heart of New York City, Mamdani has the honor of welcoming our first batch of students into the city that never sleeps. As citizens and students, we should welcome his ambitions regardless of partisan affiliation. Because it is our duty as Americans to have an optimistic outlook for the positive hopes of our nation.
