Mamdani’s Promises Are on a Collision Course With Fiscal Reality

During his campaign, New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani promised free childcare and buses, 200,000 new units of affordable housing and city-owned grocery stores, funded by raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy or borrowing.

Those pledges, which powered him to a decisive win over former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, now meet fiscal and political reality.

While Mamdani proclaimed his victory “a mandate for a city we can afford” in a speech late Tuesday after securing a majority of the vote amid the highest turnout since 1969, any new taxes to fund his agenda need the backing of ...