New York — New York City Mayor Zahran Mamdani gathered Sunday to celebrate 100 days in officetouting his early accomplishments and charting future goals as he pledged to lead with a continued focus on the city’s working class.
Addressing a crowd just days after arriving early in his first term, Mamdani said he took office promising “that the City Council will have one goal, which is to make this city belong to more of its residents than it did the day before.”
“For 102 days, we have strived to do just that,” he said.
After highlighting the early accomplishments of his administration, he then turned to some new plans.
The first, he said, is to move forward on one of his key campaign promises: opening a slate of city-run grocery stores. He said the initial store would open next year, with the remaining stores — one in each of the city’s five boroughs — to open by the end of his four-year term.
“In our stores, eggs will be cheaper. Bread will be cheaper. Grocery shopping will no longer be an unsolvable equation,” said Mamdani, a Democrat.
In addition, the city’s mayor announced plans to expand the city Covered Trash Program “Say goodbye to black bags, and say hello to trash cans,” he said, pledging to spread the initiative throughout the city by the end of 2031.
He repeated his campaign promise to make buses faster and free, saying he would move to speed up bus services along some routes. It is still unclear how he will benefit from canceling bus fares.
“Tonight, we are offering the fast, and we are excited to continue working with Albany to provide the free service,” he said, referring to the governor and the state Legislature, which has significant influence over parts of his agenda.
Before Mamdani spoke, the crowd heard from a city Department of Transportation employee about Mamdani’s attack on pothole filling; Tenant organizer who praised the mayor Focus on tenants; And the mother who fueled his expansion efforts Child care programs In the city.
“The city government will no longer fear its own shadow,” Mamdani told the crowd shortly after taking the stage. “If there are anyone who should be afraid, it is those who exploit workers.”
Mamdani, 34 years old, He took office In January after a campaign focused on making New York City an affordable place to live, his agenda focused on refocusing the enormous power of government toward helping the city’s struggling working class.